Our World
by Kring
Summary: After the Twilight Incident, Kite and BlackRose are beginning to return into their normal lives until Akira at long last decides to send her confessional email to Kite. CHAPTER 6 UPDATED!
1. Chapter 1: Email

**Disclaimer: I don't own any .hack// series and everything from it.**

**A/N: Hi! This is my first .hack// fanfiction. I made a different format of writing it, by making it into a POV between Kite and BlackRose. I hope you enjoy reading this.  
**

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**  
.Hack//Our World  
**

**Chapter 1:**** .hack//our world//e-mail**

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**Kite's POV**

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It's the last day of summer vacation. The sun was still shining brightly, the breeze was crisp cool, the autumn leaves hanged on the trees' branches, and early fall is coming in. It was a perfect and relaxing day, but for me it was actually tiring. After a long hour of soccer camp session, I shut the door behind me and lazily let myself fall on my soft and very comfortable bed.

Laying there for a short time, I turned my head to my computer.

"Hmm…Yasuhiko called and said that he needed help with training. I better log on." I sat down in front of my computer and waited for it to load. A bright turquoise background showed on the screen and I heard a sound of an e-mail. "Must be from Yasuhiko," I guessed.

A picture of a blue colored warrior with a white tattoos, came out from the e-mail. It was none other than the legendary Orca the Azure Sea.

**----------**

**Sender: Orca  
Subject: Let's level up.**

**Hey Kite! How's your summer vacation? **

**As for me, I've been online 24/7, trying to gain some levels.  
**

** I need to catch up with you and Balmung! I kinda forgot how to do the controlling and I need my mojo back. I feel like a total noob right now. . .**

**----------**

I chuckled at Yasuhiko's e-mail and replied.

**----------**

**Sender: Kite  
Subject: Re: Let's level up.**

**My summer was great! I went to soccer camp and learned some neat tricks, we gotta play sometimes.  
**

** Sure. I'll be right there. Meet me in middle of the bridge at Mac Anu.**

**----------**

After clicking send, another e-mail showed up, before Yasuhiko's. An avatar of a young cacao-skinned woman with pink hair and two yellow tattoos by the side of her cheek bones appeared. It was my old-time partner, BlackRose. I smilingly smirked at the picture for a moment, recalling the times I've spent with her in "The World."

"BlackRose…"

I blinked back at the screen and clicked on her e-mail.

**----------**

**Sender: BlackRose  
Subject: Well Done**

**Well? Have you calmed a bit since then? I feel like I've managed to get back to my life. I do feel kind of lonely at not being able to log in to "The World" though, but since I refuse to let Kazu play online games, I can't justify playing them myself. Are you playing together with Orca? Or was Orca banned just like Kazu?**

**Back then I didn't have any idea as to what was going on. I was just plowing ahead, doing whatever was set before me to do. I'm so glad we managed to resolve it.**

**So here's why I'm e-mailing, I wanted to say this when we had that offline party, but I wasn't able to work up the courage.**

**I'm glad I got to know you. Sure, it was a surprise when I found out you were younger than me, and when I saw you acting so insecure, I may have yelled a bit, but if it wasn't for you, I think I never would have been able to help Kazu. If I had to help him all by myself, I might have ended up just like he did. I think it was because you were there that I was able to make it to the end. So let me say this back to you now. If you hadn't been there, I could never had done it. Thank you.**

**----------**

I read the fourth paragraph slowly, trying not to miss any words she said. I felt somehow special when she said those words. I smiled joyfully and continued.

**----------**

**I think I might be in love with you. Psyche!**

**----------**

My eyes widen seeing the word 'love' appear on that sentence. I paused and just gazed at the screen for awhile. Surely, I thought that it was a joke when she mentioned 'psyche' but a strange yet nice feeling came in my stomach then traveled to my chest. I scratched my head, feeling confused.

_Nah. She was just kidding. _

Although, somehow, I felt she meant what she said was true. I clicked downwards and continued reading.

**---------- **

**I might still log in from time to time. If I do, I hope you and I can have a nice, normal adventure together!**

**---------- **

By the time I was done, my smile was still stuck on my face. I couldn't stop smiling at the e-mail this whole time. I nervously but excitedly clicked on 'reply.'

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**BlackRose's POV**

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It was late afternoon and the sun was almost setting. My summer vacation was almost over and I had spent most of my time playing tennis and going on family vacations. I wearily opened the door to my house and called out loud if anyone was home. It was silent.

"No answer. They must have taken Kazu to the doctor, today," I said to myself as I went upstairs to my room and dropped my huge tennis sport bag on the floor. "I swear, tennis practice is becoming more competitive these days," I sighed exhaustingly.

I stood beside my computer and I found myself, staring at my FMD goggles. I picked it up and held the goggles tightly, remembering my previous adventures in "The World," with my friends. Especially with him.

"Kite…"

The computer screen blinked after the long hours of stand by, and a picture of an envelope appeared. I sat down and clicked on it. My heart skipped, seeing the sender's name and avatar. The picture was a young man with sea-foam green hair and two red arrowed tattoos by each side of his lower jaws. It was from Kite. I scrolled down the page and started reading his e-mail.

**----------**

**Sender: Kite  
Subject: Great  
**

**Yeah, I feel much better. I'm glad to hear that everything is okay in your side and about your brother, Kazu.  
**

**I'm still playing "The World," with Orca and Balmung. We usually search for corrupted data bugs from some of the monsters we hear from other players, but most of the time we chat and go on some quests. **

**Orca is still playing, but he says he needs to adjust with the game because he feels rusty playing it again. Lol.**

**It's still not the same though. I miss hanging out and going on quests with you.**

**----------**

I read the last sentence again and again. I felt my cheeks heat up.

_He misses me? _

I shook my head, erasing the possible meanings of what he meant regarding the sentence and continued reading.

**----------**

**Oh. The offline party. It's amazing that you look like your character, BlackRose.**

**Well, if I hadn't met you, we wouldn't be able to solve the comatose problems. So, I'm really glad that I got to know you, too. Thanks for always being there by my side.**

**----------**

I clenched the left side of my tennis shirt feeling my emotions run again as I resumed reading.

**----------**

**That's great! I hope the time you login is at the same time as me. We'll definitely have a "normal" adventure together again.**

**---------- **

After I was finished reading, I couldn't help but smile at it. Knowing that Kite is still keeping in contact with me, makes me more than happy.

As, I was about to close the window, I spotted a post script on the bottom of Kite's e-mail.

**----------**

**P.S. - Psyche?**

**----------**

I dropped my forehead on the keyboard, smacking it repeatedly.

"Stupid! I'm such an idiot! I should have deleted that sentence!" I stopped and sighed heavily, rubbing my red forehead. "I might as well reply…"

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**A/N: I know it's confusing to read it. From e-mail to POV, but I didn't design fanfiction's writing formats. (LoL) I had to manage with it. The first chapter is really short, but the continuation is longer. Like I said! I don't own .hack// or anything from it! Thanks for reading it guys. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: First Day

**Disclaimer: I don't own any .hack// series and everything from it.**

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**  
.Hack//Our World**

**Chapter 2: .hack//our world//first day**

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**Kite's POV**

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Everything was black around me. Realizing I was asleep, I slowly opened my eyes, seeing my dark blurry room. In front of me was the bright computer screen which nearly made me blind. "I must have fallen asleep…" I rubbed my eyes and yawned. My avatar was just sitting there in sleep mode. "Oh now I remember," I paused, thinking of the long hours of training with Orca. I yawned again and stared at the my alarm clock. "What?! 7:25 already?!"

In shock, I hurriedly went to the bathroom and took a fast shower.

"Sweetie! You are going to be late!" my mother yelled at me.

"I know mother! I'm coming down!" I replied aloud, while I changed into my new high school uniform.

My high school uniform looked more like a suit. The blazer and pants were navy blue and underneath was a white polo long sleeves with a maroon tie.

Coming out of the bathroom, I went to my room and quickly glanced into my computer. There was a small envelope e-mail on the top left-corner of my screen. I clicked on it and saw the e-mail was from BlackRose. Right when I was about to read it, my mother stopped me.

"Young man! If you don't come down here this instant, your going to give your homeroom teacher a bad first impression," she called out angrily.

A sweat drop appeared behind my head. "Looks like this has to wait," I turned my computer off and I grabbed my backpack and went downstairs. That's when I saw my impatient mother, tapping her foot with her arms crossed.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… you should know better not to be late for your first day of high school," she raised her eyebrow while I hastily wore my black shoes by the front door.

"Here," she gave me my lunch. "Now go to school," she kissed my forehead and pushed me out the door. "I love you honey!"

I embarrassingly blushed, seeing some students giggling at me while they pass by my front porch. I took out my bike and rode it to my new school.

-----

While riding my bicycle, my mind wondered. I was anxious. People say that the first day of freshman year is awful, since you always feel lost and you didn't know anyone. As for me, hopefully, I'll see Yasuhiko there and perhaps my other friends.

I made a left turn on the corner and a couple more blocks later, I finally arrive in the school's gate. I stopped and observed the school. "Kanagawa Asahi…" I scratched my head, feeling like I've seen the name before. I went to the bicycle stands and locked my bike.

"Well, why if it isn't my one and only best friend!" a boy wearing the same uniform proudly exclaimed.

"Hey Yasuhiko," I greeted happily. Yasuhiko is my best friend since elementary school. He's the one that introduced me to "The World," so thanks to him I was able to develop many online companions.

"Nice to see you again, buddy!" he grinned and looked at me head-to-toe, "Did you grow?"

I placed my hand on my head and compared my height with his. Amazed, I noticed that I was taller than him, "I guess I did."

"That late growth spurt is coming out, huh?" he nudged me. "By the way, thanks for helping me out last night. We could have leveled up more, if Balmung didn't show up and shared his crowd of fan players with us," he sweat dropped.

"No problem," I scratched my head modestly, remembering last night's crazy experience.

The bell rang.

"Hah! Let's go!" he said excitedly.

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**BlackRose's POV**

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A loud beep surrounded my dim room. I stuck my head out from under the blankets and hit the snooze button of my alarm clock. I got up and wrapped my arms, keeping myself warm from the cool morning. I was about to approach the door, when someone knocked.

"Sis! Are you up?" It was my younger brother, Fumikazu.

"Yeah, I'm up," I opened the door and saw him staring at me. "You're already dressed up?" I looked at him weirdly and continued, "I can't believe that you woke up earlier than me!" I said surprisingly.

"Mom forced me out of bed, early. She made me stay and wait for you!" he pouted, crossing his arms stubbornly. "I'm a big kid now, I can go to school by myself."

"She just doesn't want you to get lost, Kazu," I patted his head and messed his properly combed hair, "I'll be really quick, so meet me downstairs." I passed by Kazu, heading to the hallway where the bathroom was.

"Aww! Alright!" I heard him whine, going downstairs.

Minutes later, I was ready to go. I wore my old high school uniform, which was a navy blue blazer with a white blouse inside, a dark red ribbon, and a gray skirt with a white lining. I came downstairs and saw my mom preparing our lunches.

"Morning mom!" I passed her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning to you too, Akira," she greeted happily. "Ready for school?" she asked, handing me my lunch.

"You bet I am!" I took the bag from her. "I can't wait to see my friends and the tennis team again." I grinned.

"I'm sure they can't wait to see you too, dear," she smiled.

"Heeey! My girl is a junior!" my dad patted my shoulder. "Do me proud with the sports, Akira!" he smudged his nose with his thumb.

"I will," I winked at him.

I waited for Kazu by the door as wore my black shoes. My younger brother, Kouta, tugged my blazer and pulled his arms out. I giggled and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "Bye Kouta." I opened the door and went to my bike.

"Bye!" he said cutely, by the door.

Kazu lazily sighed and followed. "I have a feeling I won't like this at all…" I heard him murmur to himself.

"Bye mom! Bye dad! We're going now!" I called out.

"Mom! Can you feed Hana for me while I'm gone?" Kazu pleaded and she nodded.

"Take care, kids! Be careful!" my dad replied, waving at us.

Kazu and I began riding our bikes to school. We encountered some of Kazu's friends from his old middle school and he talked to them. I knew he was going to chat longer, so I told him to follow along when he was done.

While passing by the houses and stores going to school, I saw my best friend Risa, waiting by the corner of Kanagawa Asahi High.

"Hey you!" Risa waved cheerfully.

"Risa!" I stopped my bike and gave her a light hug. "Wow! Your hair grew longer!"

"You like?" she twirled around, flipping her hair. "Look at you. You look like you've been working out lately," she winked. "Are you trying to impress a certain someone this year?" she tilted her head and looked passed me. Hagiya, a senior upperclassman, unexpectedly walked by and waved at us.

"W-wah? N-no!" I blushed and gulped, "I-I've been practicing tennis everyday, t-that's all…" I looked down embarrassedly.

"You know I'm just kidding right?" Risa giggled, "Seriously, come on, are you thinking of going out with you know who?" she nudged my ribs. "Everyone knows he still likes you."

"I already told you," I shrugged as I settled my bike on the bicycle stands, "I refused to go out with him, last year."

"Still, there's a slim chance that he'll ask you again," she wondered. "You know Hagiya, always persistent," she reminded me.

"Yes, yes, I know, Risa," I nodded irritatingly. "Let's just not talk about it right now," I slightly frowned.

"Oh, okay," Risa surrendered. "I don't wanna spoil your day," she stuck out her tongue.

I laughed, "Yeah you better not."

The bell rang.

"Oh! Time to go, Akira! Come on!" she cling her arm with mine.

"Hmm… I feel like I forgot something…" I murmured.

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**Ktie's POV **

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The homeroom teacher came in and told us to sit anywhere we wanted. Like always, I took the first seat beside the window and Yasuhiko sat behind me. I looked outside and it had a pretty good view of the track/soccer field and the tennis courts. 

"Good morning class! My name is Tanaka-sensei and I'll be your homeroom teacher," our sensei smiled.

"Morning, Tanaka-sensei," we all greeted.

"To begin, please read the classes I am about to write on the board."

As I read it, I heard a loud gulp from Yasuhiko, seeing the long list of school subjects.

"Aw! I'll never be able to play "The World" with those things on the board!" he scowled softly.

I chucked and turned my head towards the view beside me. I eyed the sky, then the courtyards, and the classroom far across mine. While looking around, I suddenly saw a girl on the other building, who looked familiar. I couldn't recognize her since she was afar, but I can't help but stare at her.

Suddenly, I saw her head move and she seem like she was watching me too. I blushed and just looked away.

Our sensei started class by telling us to introduce ourselves to the class. He began the opposite way and after a couple of minutes later, it was finally my turn. I stood up, "Hi, my name is Ka--" Right when I was about to introduce myself a boy unexpectedly slid open the door.

"Ah! I'm sorry for being late! I can explain!" he exclaimed exhaustingly.

Tanaka-sensei just smiled and welcomed him, telling the boy it was okay.

The bell rang for recess.

"Alright, everyone it is recess! You are all excused!" he announced and some of my classmates exited.

While Yasuhiko and I walked to the door, I studied the boy beside me, who grimly looked at the classroom.

-----

I sat down on the grass just reading my sci-fi book. Yasuhiko grabbed it from me and I sweat dropped.

"Still into this stuff?" he smirked teasingly.

"Yeah and I was getting into the good part," I smiled and snatched it back from him.

"Riiight, I'm going to the cafeteria. Be right back!" he ran.

I was about to continue reading, when I suddenly spotted a lone figure underneath a tree. It was the boy who was late and he looked pretty down. I went a distance from him and just observed him. The boy had light brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and seemed two feet shorter than me. He was holding a magazine of "The World," and then he looked up at me and glared.

"Hey you!" he called out and I pointed to myself. "Yeah you! Don't you know it's rude just staring at people like that?"

I scratched my head, feeling a déjà vu coming along. "I'm sorry?" For some reason, he's attitude reminded me of BlackRose. He still glared at me and I sweat dropped. I don't really know what to do in an awkward situation like this, but I got a glimpse of his magazine and started a conversation. "Do you like "The World" too?" I asked interestingly.

"Huh? Oh yeah! It's the best RPG game ever made!" he looked at the magazine with passion in his eyes. "What's it to you?" he still had an angry tone.

"Yeah it is the best game there is," I sat down then continued, "You get to interact with other players who are actually real in "The World," and that's why its fun."

"Yeah! Exactly!" he was now smiling, "I said the same thing to my sister, who hates RPG games. I swear! She hasn't fully played "The World" yet and she's criticizing about it."

I chuckled.

"Hey you're okay! I like you," he grinned at me. "My name is Fumikazu," he took out his hand.

"Nice to meet you," I shook his hand. "I'm--" I was suddenly cut off by a voice from far away who called out to Fumikazu.

He waved back, "Ah! My sister is calling me! I better go! I'll see you later!" He rushed towards the person.

I scratched my head confusingly, "ok… see you later..." I resumed reading my book and head to the cafeteria, where Yasuhiko was.

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**BlackRose's POV **

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I sat on my old regular spot, near the window while Risa sat beside me as usual.

"Good morning juniors!" our homeroom teacher welcomed and wrote her name on the board.

"Good morning, Hakira-sensei," we greeted.

"Since you upperclassmen are well experienced of how this school works, I will just start class with the schedules," Hakira-sensei wrote all our classes and I blankly stared at the hardship I am about to face in my junior year.

_I can manage this year, I hope._

I stared at the board for a moment wondering if I would still have any free time left.

While thinking, I felt someone watching me. I turned my head and saw a boy who was peering at me across the window, as if he couldn't clearly see me. I glared back at him and he quickly looked away.

_Weirdo…_ I thought.

-----

Half an hour has passed, and I got through my first class, Adv. Japanese/English, one of my most despised subjects. I find translating between Japanese and English very difficult since the sentences are formatted differently. I watched the clock, keenly waiting for the class to be over.

The recess bell finally rang and I sighed with relief.

-----

I was walking through the hallways, a sudden thought just came back to me. "Kazu?!" I hit my head feeling stupid for forgetting about him. I quickly ran to Risa and asked her if she saw him.

"Sorry, Akira," she shook her head and I continued searching for him.

When I nearly reached the entrance outside, I bumped unto someone. It was Hagiya.

"H-Hagiya!" I exclaimed nervously.

"Hey Akira! How's your summer?" he asked with an eager tone.

"It was fun," I glanced at him but concentrated into going outside so badly. "Um Hagiya, can I ask you something?"

"Huh? Sure! Anything!" he responded enthusiastically, sounding like I was going to ask him a question in which he has been waiting for a long time.

"When you went outside, did you happen to see my little brother, Kazu?" I avoided eye contact.

"Oh…" his voice lowered, "Nope, I don't think so, how does he look like?" he replied.

"Ah, never mind. Thanks, anyway! Bye!" I escaped.

_Phew! I don't want to have to go through the whole dating thing again, _I mused worriedly.

I went to the cafeteria and asked a bunch of lower classmen if they've seen my brother, but none of them knew him. I realize Kazu didn't have any friends in my school and that's why he was bummed out about it, this morning.

_I'm such an idiot…_

I sadly took a stroll and spotted a tree by the track field. There were two people underneath the tree. One was taller while the other was almost the same height as Kazu.

_That might be him!_

"HEY! KAZU! IS THAT YOU?!" it took a moment for the boy to respond but turned his head and started to ran towards me then he waved goodbye to the person he was talking to.

_It's Kazu! Thank God!_

"Hey sis!" he smiled happily.

"I'm so sorry! I left you behind!" I hugged him, "I was so worried! Are you alright?" he nodded in response. "I didn't know you didn't have any friends here, I should have been there for you."

"Ah sis! Don't embarrass me!" he quickly hugged me back, but let go and blushed. "I'm fine! I made my first friend already!" he grinned.

"Really? Who?" I looked for Kazu's friend.

"He's over there!" he pointed underneath the tree.

"I don't see anyone, Kazu," I replied, looking where he pointed.

"Oh, he might have left when you called me," he replied.

"Who is he?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know…" he bashfully looked down.

"You finally made your first friend and you don't even know his name?" I said deliberately.

"Don't worry! I'm in the same class as him!" my brother grinned.

The bell rang and recess was over.

"I'm going now, bye sis!" he ran off.

"Hey! Go straight home after school! Don't get into too much trouble!" I shouted and saw him nodding.

I sighed and I returned to my classroom.

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**A/N: Thank you for reviewing guys! I really appreciated it! I also hope you like this chapter. (LoL) Please tell me what you think about it!  
**


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting

**Disclaimer: I don't own any .hack// series**

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** .Hack//Our World**

**Chapter 3: .hack//our world//meeting **

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**Kite's POV**

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The final bell rang.

"Remember everyone, read the first pages of your English books!" our sensei told the class while everyone headed for the door.

"Got any plans today?" Yasuhiko asked, leaning against my desk.

"Just homework," I finished packing up my belonging and continued, "why?"

"Up for a lil' soccer, right now?" he held up a soccer ball.

"Sure!" I answered approvingly.

We were about to leave when I suddenly bumped into someone.

"Whoa!" "Ouch!"

I rubbed my head and saw the person I bumped to, "I'm sorry, Fumikazu!" I saw him on the floor and offered my hand. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," he took it and dusted off his uniform. "Oh yeah! I didn't get your name," grinned shyly.

"Who's this dude, Kai?" Yasuhiko popped out.

"Kai? Is that your name?" Fumikazu looked at me.

"It's Kaitou. But you can call me by my nickname, if you want to," I nodded and pulled Yasuhiko beside me, "And this is Yasuhiko."

"Sup?" he said and whispered to my ear, "Who is he?"

"I'm Fumikazu Hayami," he quickly bowed down at my best friend.

_Hayami? _I scratched my head, thinking as if I've heard that name before.

"So Fumikazu?" Yasuhiko spoke up slowly, having a hard time pronouncing his name. "Mind if I just call you Kaz?"

Fumikazu shook his head in response.

"Cool, then," Yasuhiko continued, "So Kaz, wanna play soccer with us?"

"Me? Umm…" he looked at me and I just bopped my head. "Okay!"

-----

We took off our blazers and ties and excitedly ran to the soccer field.

"Game!" Yasuhiko kicked the ball up high. "Kaz and I versus you!" he laughed mischievously.

"Huh?" I folded my long sleeves and entered the grassy area, "two against one?!"

"Yep!" he continued laughing and kicked it to the goal. "That's one point for us!" he high-five Fumikazu.

"Fine! I won't take you guys so easy!" I smirked, kicking the ball to the other side and ran.

"Whoooooa!" Fumikazu watched the ball fly. "He's already there, Yasuhiko!"

Yasuhiko turned around, "What?!"

I kicked the ball to the goal. "And that's a score for me," I grinned.

"I guess, he meant what he said," they gulped at the same time.

-----

After a couple of games we finally stopped and laid by the grass. The game ended well for me, since the score was 6 to 4, and I won.

"Geh! Aren't you tired at all?" Yasuhiko panted.

"Not really," I merely laughed and balanced the soccer ball on the top of my head.

"You're good, Kaitou," Fumikazu sighed tiredly, wiping the sweat on his forehead.

"Yeah, what the heck did they make you do in soccer camp anyways?" my best friend asked curiously.

"Stuff," I kicked the ball about 50 ft. up high and it straightly landed on the solid ground. "Like that," I grinned and did a peace sign.

"Show off," Yasuhiko scowled.

"Why don't you join the soccer team?" Fumikazu suggested.

"Err… I don't know," I searched where the ball rolled. "But I'll think about it," I turned to Fumikazu and nodded smilingly. "Be right back," I ran where the ball was, "where did that soccer ball have gone to?" I mumbled.

"Thaaaat's riiiight!" Yasuhiko called out, "You better get my ball back!"

I couldn't help but laugh at his irritated expression. I ran for the ball and walked as soon as it rolled slowly against a fence.

Right when I was about grab Yasuhiko's soccer ball, I heard loud popping sounds.

_Is someone playing tennis? _I stood up and saw two people playing by the tennis courts.

Amused, I went closer to the fence, trying to get a better look at the game and checking to see who were playing. One was a girl with short orange boyish hair, light-skinned and she wore a Kanagawa Asahi tennis shirt, designed like a sun's ray. I turned to the next person, and it was a girl too. She had semi-short brown hair, dark hazel eyes, tanned-skinned, and she wore the same clothing as well. I examined her closely, thinking that I've seen the girl's face before.

_Wait…! She's…!_

"Akira…?" I said unknowingly.

"Huh?" I saw her stop and a tennis ball passed her.

"Uh-oh," I turned around against the fence and quickly covered my mouth.

_Maybe she won't notice me…_

"Hey Kai! What's the hold up?!" I saw Yasuhiko and Fumikazu ran towards me.

"Err…" I sweat dropped.

_Never mind…_

"Hey you!" the orange haired girl was approaching us. "What are you guys doing here?" she posed her tennis racket to the side of her hip.

"Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting your game," I bowed apologetically. "You two are really good," I smiled.

"O-oh!" she said surprisingly. "W-we were just practicing," she scratched the back of head.

"Hi Risa!" Fumikazu joined.

"Oh, hey Kazu!" she waved at him. "Why are you guys by the tennis courts?"

"Risa!"

Noticing, I saw the other tennis player coming towards us. I coughed, feeling quite nervous since I haven't seen BlackRose, or should I say, Akira, for a long time. I deeply inhaled and exhaled preparing myself to see my long time partner.

"Who are you talking to?" she came in between the orange hair female and looked at her.

"These two guys and Kazu," she pointed at us.

"Kazu? Why didn't you go home yet?" she glanced at him and turned her head towards me and Yasuhiko. "And you two--!" her jaw slightly dropped.

"Erm. Hi, Akira…" I simply smiled and looked at her.

* * *

**BlackRose's POV**

* * *

I sat on a bench, waiting for my best friend, Risa.

"Hope you didn't wait too long," Risa settled her sports bag down.

"Nope, just on time," I walked to the opposite court, "Ready, Risa?" she nodded. "Love -Love," I started with a normal serve.

"Akira, can I ask you something?" she returned my serve.

"Shoot," I hit it back.

"Have you liked any guy, besides Hagiya?" she sliced the tennis ball.

"What are you talking about?!" I hesitated, causing me to miss my target. "I never _like-_liked him, Risa!" I tossed another tennis ball up the air and served.

"Aw, I know you felt a teensy-bit for the guy," she giggled, returning the ball to me. "Well, then tell me. Have you?"

I spiked it and it passed Risa. "15-15."

I became quiet. I didn't want Risa to find out that I kinda like someone else, already. Especially, someone who I met online and only met once. She'd think it's creepy and weird.

"Come on, Akira," she swung her tennis racket. "You never tell me anything anymore."

"Yeah, I do!" I blurted.

_Just not about that topic…_ I spiked the ball and I was able to score.

"30-15."

Not one of us talked and we just rallied back-and-forth. I couldn't stand the silence, it was killing me in the inside, really. I didn't like keeping things to myself, but for my own sake, I had to _keep_ this one a secret.

_Maybe I should change the topic…_

"Uh, how's tennis for you, Risa?" I randomly asked.

_Oh man, what kind of subject is that, Akira!_ I returned the ball and I scored.

"Don't even try to change the subject!" she pointed at me and smirked. "I know you," she hit my serve, "your hiding something from me and I'm going to find out."

_Why didn't I see this coming,_ I thought sarcastically, swinging my racket at the Risa's return.

Sometimes, I'm amazed that Risa can read my mind. We are best friends after all. She'd try every way to make me tell her something I can't, but in the end, I'd confess anyways.

_Should I bother telling her right now?_ I began to muse. _Risa, always has a way of finding out, maybe I should just tell her…_

"I knew it!" she back swung the ball back at me. "You probably like someone already! Or, or maybe, your already dating somebody!"

"Huh?!" I shook my head and missed it. "N-no, I-I'm n-not!" I took out another tennis ball and served the matching point. "If I was dating someone, Risa, I'd tell you," I tried to convince her.

"Uh-huh…" she hit the ball, sounding doubtful.

"And if I liked somebody from this _school_, I'd tell you too," I shot it back and grinned, thinking that was a smart way of twisting some words. I knew Kite was no way near my school, so I shouldn't really worry about it, just as long Risa doesn't find out that I play "The World."

"Oh, alright," she sighed and gave up. "Whatever."

After one more rally, I managed to score.

"That's game!" I announced, "your turn, Risa."

"Alrighty!" I watched her bounce the ball and she served, "Love-love!"

Feeling ready, I was going to hit the ball when I unexpectedly heard someone say my name.

"Huh?" I was distracted and I missed. I looked around and scratched my head.

"What's the matter, Akira?" Risa asked me.

"I thought I just heard someone say my name…"

"Hey, Kai! What's the hold up?!" I heard a boy call out.

"Hm? Wait a second, Akira," Risa turned her head towards the fences, where I heard the voice.

By the fence, I saw a boy wearing a white polo and navy blue pants, but I couldn't see his face. I saw Risa talking to him while two boys joined in too.

_What's happening?_ Curious, I walked to them.

"Who are you talking to?" I asked my best friend.

"These two guys and Kazu," she pointed at the small group.

"Kazu? Why didn't you go home yet?" I looked at him and turned my head to the other two guys. "And you two--!" my eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

"Erm. Hi, Akira…"

The boy had messy beige hair which covered some of his striking deep azure eyes.

"K-Kite…" I stuttered uncontrollably, "I-I m-mean! K-Kai!" I felt my cheeks burn up immediately. "W-what are you doing here…?" I was so nervous that I clumsily dropped my tennis racket.

"Here let me get that for you," he bent down and attempted to grab my tennis racket.

"N-no! It's fine! Let me--" right when I was about to take it, I felt my hand touch his. They were warm.

"Here," he laughed, handing me my racket.

"T-thank you…" I was still blushing. _Stop blushing, Akira! Stop! It's just him! No big deal right?_ I looked at his azure eyes again. _Whatever! It IS a big deal!_

"Uh… you can let go now," he said grinningly.

"O-oh right! I'm sorry!" I didn't realize I was unconsciously holding his hand at the same time. I felt like killing myself right now.

"You know Kaitou, sis?" Kazu butted in.

"K-Kazu you know him?" I asked astonishingly and he nodded. "W-when?"

"Today in recess, remember?"

The scene of Kazu and the mysterious person underneath the tree, recalled in my mind. "O-ooh… I see…" I looked down at Kai's shoes and slowly looked my way up. I noticed that he was wearing a Kanagawa Asahi uniform. "W-wait! Do you go to this school?" I gulped.

"Yeah," he answered. "Yasuhiko too," I looked at the person beside him holding a soccer ball.

"Hey BlackRose! Finally great to see you in person," Kai's friend smiled.

"BlackRose?" Risa questioningly. "Sound like a stripper name or something…" she gave me a weirdly suspicious look.

"It's not a stripper name!" I protested. I saw Kai giving me a silly grin and I could hear Yasuhiko's quiet laughter behind him.

"Oh! Now that I think about it…" Kazu wondered loudly. "I remember you mentioning that name before, sis."

_Oh crap! I did?! _I panicked.

"Isn't BlackRose your character in "The Worl-muff!" I quickly covered his mouth.

"Ahhh…" Risa shot a playful smirk at me. "From all the people I know who play "The World," I always thought you weren't one of them."

"R-Risa, I can explain," I sweat dropped.

"It's ok," she moved closer to my ear and whispered. "Tell me later on the phone."

I looked at her and saw Kai, Yasuhiko, and Kazu, watching me. "Phew, okay…" I replied to Risa. She was already on to me, so it was better for her, to tell me privately.

"Oh! Why look at the time!" she pretend to look at her left wrist, which didn't really have a watch. "I better be going now," she went to the tennis court and got her sports bag. "Nice meeting you guys! See you later Akira and Kazu!" she waved and left.

"Bye, Risa!" I waved and so did the guys. Risa wasn't the type to embarrass someone in a sticky situation in front of people, and that's what I liked about her. I sighed heavily and just stood there, speechless.

Suddenly, I noticed Yasuhiko moving Kai closer to him and whispered.

_What are they talking about? _I watched Kai hesitatingly looking at me.

"Hey Kaz, let's get our stuff," he told Kazu.

"Uh, okay," he replied and followed Yasuhiko.

"We'll be back with your stuff, buddy," he nudged Kai and left with Kazu.

It was just him and me.**  
**

* * *

**Kite's POV**

* * *

Akira gave me a shocking look.

"K-Kite…" she suddenly said. "I-I m-mean K-Kai!" she exclaimed. "W-what are you doing here?"

Suddenly she dropped her tennis racket and I picked it up for her. "Here, let me get that for you."

"N-no! It's fine! Let me--"

Our hands touched. Her hands were a bit sweaty and I guess it was from tennis practice. I chuckled at her nervous expression. "Here," I handed it.

"T-Thank you…" she looked down shyly and then looked up at me.

I can't help but smile. I remembered, in "The World," BlackRose would act tough, strong, and brave. And she's the one who'd give me motivation, facing the toughest situations. But sometimes, she would show her offline personality and I always find that cute about her.

We were still holding hands, causing me to grinningly blush a bit, "Uh… you can let go now."

"O-oh right! I'm sorry!" she let go and held her racket.

"You know Kaitou, sis?" Fumikazu appeared into the conversation.

"K-Kazu, you know him?"

He nodded.

"W-when?"

"Today, in recess, remember?" he reminded Akira.

"O-ooh… I see…" she stared at me. "W-wait! Do you go to this school?"

"Yeah," I nodded and pointed to Yasuhiko, "Yasuhiko too."

"Hey BlackRose! Finally great to see you in person," my best friend greeted cheerfully.

Before I could say something it was too late.

"BlackRose?" Akira's friend questioned curiously. "Sounds like a stripper name or something…"

"It's not a stripper name!" Akira fumed and meekly looked at me.

I sweat dropped as soon as I heard Yasuhiko laugh behind me. I didn't want him to mention Akira's username since she's still trying to keep it a secret but it was pretty unexpected.

Kazu bumped into the conversation except Akira cut him off and smiled nervously.

"Oh!" the girl by the name of Risa, exclaimed. "From all the people I know who play "The World," I always thought you weren't one of them." She placed her hands on her hips.

"R-Risa, I can explain."

I could tell from Akira's facial expression that she was embarrassed. I wanted to help her out but I knew that I'd make things worst for her. So I kept myself quiet and watched Risa mumble something to Akira.

"Oh! Why look at the time!" she looked at her naked wrist. "I better be going now," I saw her grabbing her tennis bag and waved at us, "Nice meeting you guys! See you later Akira and Kazu!"

"Bye Risa!" Akira waved at her friend.I watched Akira's friend leave, and I merely waved at her.

_Was she even wearing a watch? _I scratched my head.

Just when she left, we were all quiet. I couldn't think of a topic to talk about and I didn't want to say anything random, after a quite unexpected event.

That's when Yasuhiko began murmuring in my ear. "Hey, Kai, I'll give you some alone time with her," he suggested.

"Huh?" I raised my eyebrows at him and looked over to Akira.

"I'll be right back!" he grinned and turned his head to Fumikazu. "Hey Kaz, let's get our stuff."

"Uh, okay," he began following Yasuhiko to the soccer field.

"We'll be back with yours, buddy," he teasingly nudged my ribs and secretly held his pinky then winked.

"Huh?" I tilted my head.

Eventually, I knew what he meant and I felt my cheeks redden. _It's nothing like that…_ I turned my attention back to Akira.

"So…" Akira started, "how are you, Kai?" she fiddled her fingers.

"I'm good," I smiled, "you?"

"Same…" she replied.

"This means were schoolmates now, hm?" I scratched the back of my head and chuckled.

"Yeah…" she giggled along. "By the way, why do you have grass stains on your uniform?" she pointed at my white polo shirt.

"Ah!" I shockingly looked at my green stained clothes. "We were playing soccer," I tried wiping the smudges off, but I failed.

"I see, that's why Kazu hasn't left school yet," she placed her hand on her chin wonderingly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to let Fumikazu, stay after school," I rubbed the back of my neck and bowed my head down.

"N-no, no! It's okay! Don't apologize!" she waved her hands. "He needs to know how to socialize with others. It's good to see that he's friends with you already."

I chuckled and it became silent again. Neither of us talked. When I would try to speak up, we both would saying something at the same time. Instead, I decided to wait.

"Y-you know, I thought I'd never see you again," Akira looked down at the ground, sounding disappointed.

Suddenly, seeing her sad face made me feel uneasy.

"But I'm happy," she looked up then beamed at me, "that I got another chance to meet you in person."

"Me too," I nodded.

We stood there smiling at each other. I can't describe it but somehow it felt great, seeing her again.

"Maybe instead of hanging-out in "The World," we can still hang-out after school?" I suggested, giving it a shot.

"Yeah. That'd be nice," she answered sweetly.

_Yes! _I mentally cheered. "It'll be like old times," I enthusiastically stated.

"Right," she gave me a soft smile. "Just like old times…"

* * *

**A/N: Wooot! You guys are awesome! I'm relieve that you liked the last chapter. I know it wasn't much but I'm trying to make it longer.  
I tried my hardest to find a sensible name for Kite, so I ended up with Kaitou/Kai. Thanks to Shun (friend), he was able to read the name of some artist who made a fanart of Yasuhiko and Kite, so I went with it. The name sounds pretty cool anyways.  
Yosh! Well I'm done with this chapter! Please review! (LoL)****  
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**


	4. Chapter 4: Chattings

**Disclaimer: I don't own any .hack// series and everything.**

* * *

** .Hack//Our World**

**Chapter 4: .hack//our world//chattings **

* * *

**BlackRose's POV**

* * *

As soon as I entered my room, I let out a huge sigh and laid on top of my bed. I stared at the ceiling light, thinking of my first day of school.

_It was totally unexpected… _

I couldn't believe that my online best friend, Kite, actually attends the same high school as me. I saw him with my very own eyes, wearing the Kanagawa boy's uniform and it was proof.

_What were the odds of seeing him again? _

"One in a bazillion players in "The World…" I told myself, covering my eyes with my forearm.

While laying there, I heard a telephone ring from downstairs.

"Akira! Phone!" my mom called out. "It's Risa!"

"Coming!" I replied. _Risa? Why would she call me?_ I thought, heading downstairs and taking the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Akira!" she greeted. "I wanted to call you about earlier," she said eagerly.

"Oh…" I muttered, finally remembering it. _I almost forgot._ "Fine, you caught me," I heaved a sigh. "But you won't believe me, if I told you…"

"Try me," she replied confidently.

"Fine…" I started to tell her everything regarding of my secretive side of "The World." I told her how I met Kite, the quests that we've done, and practically everything I did with him, into solving the comatose problem. And I also mentioned my offline meeting with him. I kept hearing 'uh-huhs' from Risa, and I wasn't sure if she believed them.

Finally when I was done, I couldn't hear anything from the end of the line. _I knew she wouldn't get it, _I thought, lightly hitting my head against the wall.

"Okay…" she spoke out. "Your story sounds out there…"

"You mean weird, right?"

"Yes and unbelievable," she responded. "But it does make a whole lot of sense meeting your old friend in real life."

"Huh?"

"Akira, there are like a million people playing "The World," she began explaining, "It makes sense that your bound to bump into some of them."

"So?" I sounded unsure.

"I know your not just making this up," she stated contently. "Any who, spill it!"

"I already did," I said. "That's all."

"What do you mean that's all?" she doubtfully said. "You sound so close with him. Almost like best friends or should I say lov--"

"A-ah! w-what?!" I cut her off. "N-no! y-your thinking of it the wrong way!" I saw my mom looking over at me and I turned around making sure she couldn't hear me.

"Yeah right," she sarcastically said.

"Look, we're just friends…" I mumbled, twirling the telephone line.

"Liar!" she exclaimed jokingly. "It was written all over your face. Just tell me, I'll find out later on, ya know."

"Err…" I hesitated. "Oh hey mom is calling me, see you tomorrow Risa!"

"Hey! Hey! Don't you-!"

I hanged up and placed my hands on my reddened cheeks. "Phew…"

Suddenly, another call came up.

_Ugh, Risa! _I annoyingly answered the phone

"Look Risa! I don't want to say anything anymore, I'll tell you when I'm ready."

"Akira? Is that you?" it was a young man's voice.

_Eh?! Who is this?_

"This isn't Risa, since my voice is deeper than hers," I heard a laugh.

"Excuse me?" I replied.

"It's Hagiya."

"O-ohh!" I stuttered. _H-Hagiya? Why is __**he**__ calling me?_

"I know this is very unexpected for me to call you," he began talking.

_Yeah! Very unexpected! _I thought.

"Since it's just the first week of school, I was wondering if you and I go somewhere after school."

_Is he asking me on a date?_ I blushed a little and covered the microphone. "I thought I already clarified things with him already…"

"And no, it's _not_ a _date_," he abruptly stated. "I just want to spend some time with a friend."

"Umm…" I wondered. _What do I say?! _

"You can tell me tomorrow, you don't have to answer right away," he suggested.

"Uh, alright," I meekly respond. "Bye then!" I hung up for the second time and heaved a huge sigh.

"Everything okay, Akira?" my mom called out.

"Erm, yeah! I'll be upstairs, doing homework!" I went to my room, covering my redden cheeks.

* * *

**Kite's POV**

* * *

Sleeping soundly on my living room couch, I could hear the clattering of plates on the dinner table. I woke up and walked to the kitchen, rubbing my eyes.

"Hey sleepy head," a deep voice greeted me.

"Good evening father," I welcomed sleepily.

"How was school?" my mother sat down.

"It was…" I thought about the after school incident, "Interesting…"

"Wouldn't mind tell us?" my father handed me a plate of food.

"Yasuhiko goes to the same school as me," I began and took a bite of my dinner. "We played soccer after school," I reached for the water.

"Did you meet any girls?" my mother mentioned abruptly.

The image of Akira appeared on my head. "Pfffffttt!" I unexpectedly spat across the table, coughing the water out of my throat.

"Is that a yes?" I wiped my mouth and saw my father's wet faced blank expression. "I think your mother would like to hear all about it," he smirked and winked at me, wiping the spat water off his face.

I sweat dropped and swallowed, beginning to tell my eventful day.

**-----**

"Akira Hayami?" my mother phrased, taking the dinner plates off the table. I nodded. "Isn't she the girl you mentioned before?" I looked up at her and tilted my head. "In your online game or whatever you call it," she continued, while placing the plates on the sink.

"Yeah, but she doesn't play anymore," I replied wiping the table.

"How come?" my father asked, sipping he's cup of coffee.

I scratched my head, thinking of a way of explaining it to my parents. "Erm…"

"That's a smart girl, at least she knows what's important," my mother sermon and I rolled my eyes, feeling I'm about to be compared to someone else. "Unlike a certain child of ours," she giggled.

I mildly frowned.

"She's just kidding," my father chuckled. "Just play that game of yours, after your school activities. You're a high school student now, from that point on, schooling gets harder."

"Yeah, I know," I nodded.

"You should take her here sometimes," my mother wiped her hands and sat down.

"Why?"

"Because," my dad took another sip of his coffee, "she's the only recent real girl you've mentioned to us. Unless you consider your other online girl friends," He looked at me and smirked.

_Are they encouraging me to get a girlfriend? _I was taken aback. "I-I guess, I c-can…" I pulled my collar and nervously continued, "S-she's just a friend t-though…"

They both stared at me and I looked away, feeling embarrassed.

**-----**

"Good night," I told my parents, while slowly closing the door to my room. I turned around and sighed, thinking of the previous conversation.

_They just like teasing me_.

Thinking of what to do next, I remembered Akira's e-mail in which I forgot to read this morning.

_I better log on_.

I turned off the lights, pretending that I've fallen asleep already and lowered the volume of my computer. Settled, I scanned through my e-mails and found one that was 'new'.

**----------**

**Sender: Terajima Ryoko**

**Subject: How are you?**

**Hello again, Kite. I wanted to see if your doing well. I apologize if my reply took a longer than I hoped. The last time we had a talk online, it was early last summer, when my father took me to Hawaii.**

**----------**

I smiled at the introduction mail that my good friend, Terajima sent me. I was happy that she still remembered me. Usually, after the summer, some online friends would completely forget about you. I moved to the next sentence.

**----------**

**It was okay but I have more fun playing "The World" with you, Kite. **

**----------**

I gaped at the sentence. I was being compared to a vacation to Hawaii. Having a vacation in Hawaii is extraordinarily fantastic and it's the ultimate vacation spot for me, but for Terajima it sounded like it was her normal summer.

I chuckled at the next phrase, where my name was typed. I couldn't help but feel special from the comparison. She sounded like she rather play "The World" with me than do anything else. I felt a tint of redness appear on my right cheek and I shook it off. I continued reading the e-mail.

**----------**

**Today, I applied to my high school. And this time my father dropped me beside the school's sidewalk. **

**----------**

I lightly laughed. She use to be dropped off 200m from school and walk there. At least this time, her father isn't giving her the trouble of walking.

**---------**

**It is an all girls school. It has a nice environment but I don't like it. I do not want to be mean but everyone in that school are very high class and obnoxious. I told my father if I could switch schools and he said that he will think about it.**

**----------**

I frowned a bit. From what it says, it seemed like Terajima isn't able to fit in with the school's society.

_I hope she goes to a better school…_

I scanned the next paragraph.

**----------**

**Kite, how are you? Are you in high school too? What high school do you go to? I apologize for asking so many questions, it has been awhile. I don't want to bother you anymore with my long e-mail. I'm sorry. Hope we get to play again.**

**---------**

And the e-mail ended. I opened another window and started replying to her e-mail.

After a couple of minutes later, I was finally done and I scanned through my other e-mails. I spotted a clear box in the inbox and it belonged to BlackRose.

_Oh yeah, her e-mail this morning. I nearly forgot,_ I clicked on it and smiled.

**----------**

**Sender: BlackRose**

**Subject: Never mind**

**Ugh! I was just kidding OK?! Can't you take a joke?! That is so like you to notice such little things! Just forget what I said! OK?!**

**----------**

I burst a chuckle reading the constant spammed exclamation marks on e-mail. I scratched my head, thinking if I should reply or not. I feel like maybe the previous letter was more serious than I thought, and I should talk to her about it. But seeing this e-mail, perhaps she doesn't want to.

_Hmm, maybe I shouldn't…_ I decided to change the subject and hit a 'new message,' instead.

I could feel my eyes fall and my mouth yawned. I turned the system off and jumped to bed.

* * *

**BlackRose's POV**

* * *

I sat on Kazu's bed petting his prairie dog, Hana. Kazu was on the computer 'checking' his e-mail.

_Like I believe him,_ I thought sarcastically.

As the oldest child, it was my responsibility to take care of my siblings. And my definition of 'taking care' means 'preventing Kazu from playing "The World.'" I know that I've been strict with him, but it's my job.

I looked at the corner of my eye and saw his head slightly turned back, trying to sneak a peak at me.

"Akira, can you leave?" he turned around, facing me. "You, being in my room, and watching me is bothersome."

"Nope," I lightly poke Hana's pink nose. "_You_, being on the computer is _bothersome_. Once I set foot out of your room, your going to alternate tab back playing "The World." I'm not stupid," I giggled and stuck my tongue at him.

He groaned and blankly stared back at the screen.

"Oh, are you done?" I asked teasingly, and heard another annoyed groan from him. "Let me use it really quick."

"What for?" he scowled.

"I'm going to check something," I stated, handing him Hana and in exchange I took his seat. I logged on "The World's" mail service section and clicked on it.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Kazu exclaimed pointing at me. "How come you get to play?"

"You doofus," I didn't take my eyes off the screen, scanning it. "I'm checking my e-mail."

"Hmph!" he grunted and petted Hana, beside me.

While scrolling up and down, I heard a 'new message' sound from the computer.

"Hey, someone e-mailed you," my brother went closer.

I clicked on the mail and it was from Kite.

_Kai..!_

"Wow," my brother sounded amused. "He looks cool…" he paused but continued, "I feel like I've seen him somewhere…"

_Duh, it's Kai, _I thought mentally.

"Kazu! Quit looking over here, it's rude," I glared at him, blocking the monitor.

"Hey! Your in my room and that's my computer," he clarified.

"Just go over there," I shooed him away, "I'll be out of here in no time."

"Your so unfair," I heard him sighed and laid on his bed with Hana.

Not minding my brother, I concentrated back to Kite's e-mail.

**----------**

**Sender: Kite**

**Subject: Hang-out**

**Hiya! Wanna hang out after school, tomorrow? I'll be waiting by the bike stands in the morning. Give me your answer by then. See ya, Akira!**

**----------**

I astonishingly gawked at Kai's e-mail.

_Already?_

I shouldn't have expected it from him sooner, but knowing Kite he does things unexpectedly. Reading the letter for the second time, I blushed seeing that he typed my _real _name instead of my regular username. Also, it sounded odd. _It feels like a date._ I shook my head erasing the thought out of my head.

"What's wrong?"

"K-Kazu!" my brother startled me. "N-nothing! I-I'm done using your computer," I logged off. "I-I have to go to sleep."

"Aren't you going to bed too early?" he slanted his head.

"I-I need more sleep. Today was tiring," I faked a grin and head out of the room. As soon as I entered my bedroom, I sighed deeply.

**-----**

It was morning and I was standing outside with my bike, waiting for Kazu. "Kazu! Time to go! We'll be late!"

"Hold on!" he hastily wore his shoes and waved goodbye to mom and dad.

"Next time, I'm leaving without you," I annoyingly frowned, while he walked his bike towards me.

"Meh," he stuck out his tongue at me and looked at his watch. "We aren't late, sis. It's just 7:15."

"Wah! L-let's just go!" I started pedaling.

_I don't want to keep Kai, waiting…_

I begin predicting what to do once I meet up with him. I didn't know what we could do after school. We could go grab a drink or eat in a café and talk, we can watch a movie, or we can just take a walk. I shook my head.

_It really sounds like a date…_ I heavily sighed.

"He's the one who invited me…" I muttered while turning to the corner. I looked up and I could see the school's building coming closer to view. Nearing the school gate, I saw a tall figure leaning against the wall where the bike stands where. I gulped and felt my stomach flip. When I was about to stop, I saw the corner of his eye glancing at me and he turned around.

"Hi Kai!" Kazu greeted. "I have to go to my locker."

I waved at my younger brother and I slowly turned my attention to Kai.

"Good morning, Akira," he warmly smiled then waved.

_Get a grip, Akira! He just said 'good morning!' Say something!_ I quickly looked up at him and bashfully smiled, "Morning." I parked my bike and locked it. "So…" I started.

"Right," he started too. "Did you receive my e-mail?"

I nodded.

"Hmm," he rubbed the back of his neck and stared down. "Do you still want to hang out?" he gazed back at me.

"I-I…"

"Oh! I finally found you!" a voice interrupted.

I turned around and in shock I saw the person behind me. It was Hagiya.

_I completely forgot…_

* * *

**Kite's POV**

* * *

Right when Akira was about to answer me, I saw a shadow overcoming her and I looked at it. I simply watched her turn around and jump surprisingly at the person.

"H-Hagiya?!" she faced him.

"Hey, Akira," he grinned at her direction. "About yesterday, have you decided?"

Akira looked at me nervously and bit her lip. I didn't know what was happening, but observing her facial expression, I think she was pretty troubled. I sweat dropped and just smiled.

"Uh, you see I already have plans…" she glanced at me.

"Hm?" I muttered silently.

"Oh, I see…" he sadly spoke.

"I'm sorry," Akira apologetically bowed her head.

"It's okay," his tone deepened. "Maybe next time," he somewhat smiled. "Just curious, what are you going to do?"

"Oh! Um.. Err…" I saw Akira glimpse at me.

_She probably doesn't know._

"We're going to a café after school," I decided to come into the conversation and Akira shot me a look.

"Huh? Who are you?" he finally noticed and stared at me blankly.

"My name is Kaitou," I slightly grinned and took out my hand. "Nice to meet you, umm…"

"Hagiya," he sternly confirmed and just glanced at my hand. "I'm a senior and I'm one of Akira's friends."

I took my hand back, failed to receive a shake. "I'm a freshman" I courteously scratched my head and chuckled, "I'm one of Akira's friends too."

"How long have you known her?" he asked right away.

"I don't--"

"Oh look at the time!" Akira blurted. "K-Kai! L-let me show you around the school!" she tugged my sleeve.

"Hm? Gwak--!" she dragged me, while I waved goodbye to my new acquaintance. Akira and I scampered inside the school and halted by a nearby tree.

"Did I do something wrong?" I sweat dropped. "You gave me 'the look'."

"What look?" she raised her eye brow.

"Like this one," I did a BlackRose expression of an angry but worried pouting face.

"Hey! I so did not do that!" she pouted.

I laughed and pointed at her, "You just did it right now!"

"Gr…" she scowled. I was beginning to feel the BlackRose personality coming out.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," I calmed down. "It's just cute," I grinned.

"Ah, be quiet," she frowned but smiled right after.

The bell rang.

"Hn, I guess it's time," I looked at the school's clock tower. "I'll meet you by the gate, after school."

"Okay," she replied. "Bye, Kai!"

"Ditto," I waved and entered the building to my classroom.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay. I've been going through many things lately for the past weeks. Anyways! Guys thank you so much for the suggestions and reviews! I reply to each one, (I think...) Well I'm still keeping the story at a steady pace. (Trying to make it a bit normal day kind but have the moments appear) Too much excitement can bring a heart attack to both of us. (LoL! JK JK) There will be a lot coming, I assure you. I hope you like this chapter too. **


	5. Chapter 5: Flashbacks

**Disclaimer: I don't own any .hack// series and everything from it.**

* * *

**.Hack//Our World**

**Chapter 5: .hack//our world//flashbacks**

* * *

**BlackRose's POV**

* * *

I stood by the gate patiently waiting for Kai. While watching the students come in and out of the building, I began reminiscing about the tensioned conversation this morning.

_Flashback_

_"H-Hagiya?!"_

_"Hey Akira," he smiled. "About yesterday, have you decided?"_

_I hesitated, seeing that I forgot about Hagiya's call. I turned to Kai who had a naive smile plastered on his face. I already decided on taking his invite, so I had to decline on Hagiya's offer. _

_"Uh, you see I already have plans…" _

_"Oh, I see…" Hagiya's voice lowered._

_"I'm sorry," I bowed. I couldn't help but feel guilty. After all, Hagiya was the first person who asked me but I can't lie to myself or to him, I really wanted to go with Kai. It was better to be honest._

_"It's okay. Maybe next time," he slightly grinned. "Just curious, what are you going to do?"_

_I scratched the side of my cheek. "Oh! Umm…Err…" I looked at Kai, hoping that maybe he can help me out._

_"We're going to a café after school," Kai butted in. _

_I raised my eyebrow at him._

_"Huh? Who are you?" Hagiya pointed at Kai._

_"My name is Kaitou. Nice to meet you, umm…" he introduced himself, putting his right hand for a shake._

_"Hagiya," he glared at him. "I'm a senior and I'm one of Akira's friends."_

_I worriedly sighed. I had a feeling that this chat can lead into some personal trouble._

_Kai pulled his hand back in his pocket. "I'm a freshman," he grinned and chuckled. "I'm one of Akira's friends too."_

_"How long have you known her?" Hagiya had a suspicious tone._

_I slapped my forehead, feeling uneasy for Kai. I'm guessing that Hagiya was doing the 'I'm a better person' Q&A. I needed to think fast before this situation becomes hectic._

_"I don't--" I grabbed Kai's blazer and start pushing him aside._

_"Oh, look at the time!" I exclaimed, pretending to look at my watch. "K-Kai! L-let me show you around the school!" I stuttered._

_"Hm? Gwak--!" I yanked him away from Hagiya and we rushed through the crowd of students in our way. _

_End of Flashback_

"That was a close one…" I heaved a sigh.

"What was?" a shadow blocked my view.

I looked up and saw Kai. "O-oh! Kai! You're here," I jumped.

"Yep!" he warmly beamed. "Ready?"

My stomach suddenly growled._ Ugh, great timing…_

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Kai laughed and I felt my cheeks blush.

I embarrassingly looked away, feeling speechless. My online partner just smiled again and he began walking on the sidewalk while I followed. "Which café are we heading to?"

"You'll see," he grinned.

-----

It's been half an hour and we've passed by numerous eating stands and nook restaurants. The growling of my stomach became louder and louder while we went by the viewable bistros.

_Are we there yet?_ I thought hungrily.

"Where is it?" I heard Kai mutter under his breath. He sailor searched for a couple of minutes and finally his eyes brighten up, "Over there!"

I twirled around and saw the place we were going to eat. It was an neatly decorated internet café. It was a brown building with two large clear windows, black tea tables, chairs, and a bench outside. The extension was on the roof where they had huge umbrellas on each table. I observed the café closer, and in my surprise, I finally knew where we were.

"Wait, Kai isn't this the…" I trailed off.

"It's the place where we had our offline meeting," he smirked grinningly with his hands on his pocket. "I'm sorry for taking so long, we could have gone to the first eatery we've walked by but I couldn't think of--"

"N-no! Don't apologize," I protested. Instead of having an earthquake inside my stomach, I felt butterflies fluttering. I considered this place very special to me because it was the place where Mistral and I saw Kai and our other online friends for the first time.

I was touched. "It's fine, Kai," I couldn't help but keep a smile on my face.

He rushed to the café door and opened it for me, then scratched the back of his head, smiling. I blushed a bit and nodded thankfully.

* * *

**Kite's POV**

* * *

We were strolling by sidewalk, filled with stores, markets, and restaurants. Akira had just asked me which place we were dining and all I could think of was the internet café where we had our offline meeting. I was beginning to feel nervous because I couldn't remember where it was located and I knew that Akira was already hungry. "Where is it?" I asked myself, while searching for the place.

Finally, I spotted a familiar looking café. It had a motorcycle bike parked by it and the thought of Balmung appeared on my mind, which helped me remember how the place appeared to be. "Over there!" I pointed.

I glanced at Akira which had an astonished expression. "Wait, Kai isn't this the…" she stopped and simply gazed at the building.

"It's the place where we had our offline meeting," I was now feeling less nervous, seeing that Akira recognized it too. "I'm sorry for taking so long, we could have gone to the first eatery we've walked by but I couldn't think of--"

"N-no! Don't apologize," Akira stopped me, and a smile formed on her face. "It's fine, Kai."

_At least she's happy about it, _I smirked and opened the door for her.

-----

As we entered the café, we saw a couple of people eating and talking with one other, while some of them were online, chatting with their friends or playing "The World." A waitress bowed and welcomed us.

"Good afternoon, would you like to reserve a spot for using the internet or dine in?" she asked.

"Dine in, please," I replied.

"Shouko?" Akira blurted. "Do you work here?"

The waitress looked up, "Akira! What a surprise!" she smiled. "Yes, I work here part-time now. What are _you_ doing here?"

"Uh, I'm with a friend," she pointed to me and I waved 'hello.'

"Ah, a date," her friend giggled. "He's cute, Akira."

I blushed at the compliment and glanced over at Akira who looked embarrassed.

The waitress kept giggling but she soon calmed down. "I'm so sorry," she smiled apologetically. "Here, let me give you two the best seat in the house." We walked upstairs which led outside and she placed two menus on the table. "This spot has a really nice view of the sunset."

"Thank you, Shouko," Akira sat on her chair. "Have you and Yuuji eaten here, before?"

"Of course, I let him play on the internet for free sometimes," she winked. "So then, what will you two be having?"

We both pointed out our orders and in return, she told us that she'll serve the food right away. There was a moment of silence on the small table. All I did was look below the block, watching people pass by and coming in and out of the stores. I looked over at Akira who was doing the same thing. As a result I began recalling what happened last time we where here.

_Flashback_

_Balmung and I just arrived in the internet café, where the offline meeting supposedly was settled._

"_This is the place right?" I observed the café._

_"Positive," Balmung declared. "I've been here before, no doubt Lios described it exactly in the e-mail he sent us."_

_Abruptly, a tall and skinny man wearing a plain white CC Corp t-shirt and blue jeans approached us. He was about six feet tall, so I had to tilt my head up to get a good look at his face. He had a small head, wore glasses, and he had a black coconut hair style._

_"Hello," he waved and fixed his glasses. "Might you be Kite? Or what I usually call you as, 'He of fair eyes.'"_

_"Piros?" I surprisingly pronounced._

_"Yes. That is my IGN," he nodded. "But please call me by Hiroshi Matsuyama," he bowed then continued. "I have a message for everyone from my system administrator, Lios."_

_"He isn't here, is he?" Balmung crossed his arms surely._

_"He is very sorry for doing this. He told me to tell all of you that he cannot come because he is busy with CC Corp business lately," he wiped the side of his forehead with a handkerchief. "However, he paid the whole café for everyone to have as a party," he grinned happily._

_I chuckled, feeling kind of weird meeting the person behind Piros. I thought of him as a goofy and very committed rpg-gamer, but seeing him in real life helped me got to know him better. "Wow! That's really generous of Lios," I smiled. "I'll be sure to thank him later."_

_The rest of the time, Balmung and I chatted with Mr. Matsuyama until some of our other friends arrived. Wiseman was the next person who came, and he appeared as a 10-yr. old elementary student by the name of Takumi Hino. I was amazed with his offline self since he's just a kid but he's one of the smartest people and best dealers in the game. _

_After that, Natsume came in, who I knew a bit well in real life given that her school was near mine. And right through the door she was followed by Nuke, Rachel, Gardenia and some of her fans from school then with Marlo and Moonstone. With most of my online friends here, we got to know more about each other and we got along well just like we'd be in "The World." _

_When most of my friends gathered, a waitress came up to me._

_"I have a message for you from Helba," she handed me a piece of paper._

_I called everyone around me and read the note._

_**---------------**_

_**To all my friends,**_

_**I hope the party that Lios has prepared for all of you is going well. As you might have noticed, I'm not in the party and I said that I might go. I do apologize for this. **_

_**Once again, I want to tell you all, thank you. Have fun and great job everyone…**_

_**---------------**_

_After I finished reading, everyone cheered and started shouting happily and took out drinks for a toast._

_But everyone wasn't exactly here yet. I still needed to wait for BlackRose. I want to enjoy the party with her especially since she's my online best friend and we went through many things in "The World". _

_'Maybe she forgot,' I thought anxiously. I decided to send her an e-mail with my cell phone. I searched through my pockets for it but I realized that I left the device in Balmung's motorcycle compartment. I head for the door when all of a sudden I bumped into someone._

_"Ah!"_

_I immediately grabbed a hold of them to catch their fall. "Are you alright?" I helped the person stand up._

_"Y-yeah. I'm fine," the person had a soft tone, so I was guessing it was a girl. _

_Finally, I got a good look at her, once she faced me. She appear to have a tan colored skin, short flared brown hair, and dim hazel eyes. I couldn't really describe it, but most of her features were similar to BlackRose, except the pink hair and the revealing outfit. "BlackRose?" _

_I could see her directly gazing at me, "W-wha? H-how do you know me?" She blinked and took a better view of me, "A-are you Kite?"_

_"Yep. That's me," I smiled and did a peace sign. "But my real name is Kaitou Sasaki," I took out my hand. "You can call me Kai, for short."_

_'Yes! She came!' I happily mused._

_"Akira Hayami," she took my hand and instead hugged me. "It's great to finally meet you, Kai."_

_I hugged her back. "Me too, Akira."_

_End of Flashback _

"Huh? Is there something on my face?" Akira asked.

"Oh! No, I was just remembering the time we had the offline party," I sheepishly beamed.

Two plates landed on our table and the aroma of our ordered food loomed around us.

_That was fast_, I thought while staring at my platter.

"Here are your orders. Enjoy," Akira's friend appeared. "I gotta get back to work, Akira. If you need anything else just tell me," and she went back inside the café.

We silently ate our meal. It wasn't the fact that I didn't want to say anything to Akira, but I just couldn't think of any topic to talk about. _Think, think, think, Kai. You're the one who invited her, decide what to say. _Just then, I randomly saw someone pass by holding a tennis racket which finally gave me an idea.

"Do you still play on a tennis team?" _Phew…_

"Uh, yeah," she replied after she took a bite of her food. "We're starting practice earlier this season," she continued. "Couch is determinedly wanting us to win this year, so his expecting a lot from everyone in the team."

"Oh, wow," I uttered. _Maybe I'll watch her in one of her games._ "Hm, do you know when will your first game will be?" I took a glimpse at her.

"Hmm," she placed her index finger on her chin wonderingly. "Probably next month," she finally answered. "How come?" she drink her glass of water.

"Can I watch you play?" I scratched the back of my head.

"W-wha?" she coughed and patted her chest. "S-sure, if you want to..."

"Great!"

The rest of the time, we resumed eating our food and getting to know each other. Once we saw the sun go down, I paid the bill and we left the café.

* * *

**BlackRose's POV**

* * *

Kai and I walked inside the building and we were greeted by a waitress.

"Good afternoon, would you like to reserve a spot for using the internet or dine in?"

"Dine in, please" Kai answered.

She was light skinned with long straight black hair and she had dark purple eyes. Feeling like I knew the person, I realized that the waitress was Shouko.

"Shouko?" I took a better look at her. "Do you work here?"

She stood up straight and faced me, "Akira! What a surprise!" she exclaimed. _Yeah a surprise, that's for sure._ "Yes, I work here part-time now. What are _you_ doing here?"

Recalling, I once saw Shouko working in another restaurant where my mom and I went. Shouko is a hard-working student ever since I met her. She would help her mother in anyway she can in order to make it easier for her.

"Uh…" I looked over at Kai. "I'm with a friend."

"Ah, a date," her friend giggled. "He's cute, Akira."

Kai chuckled nervously, smiling to Shouko's lovely comment. I flushed feverishly.

"I'm so sorry," Shouko stopped laughing and bowed apologetically. "Here, let me give you two the best seat in the house," she led us to the backdoor and up the stairs going outside. "This spot has a really nice view of the sunset."

"Thank you, Shouko," I gratefully said and sat down. It _did_ have a nice view of everything around the block. I could feel the cool breeze blowing through my hair and the scenery of the city and hills came into our view beautifully. "Have you and Yuuji eaten here, before?"

"Of course, I let him play on the internet for free sometimes," she giggled softly, covering her mouth. "So then, what will you two be having?" she took out her notepad and got our orders.

"Okie dokie! I'll be right on it!" she went back inside.

I turned my head, looking over at the city's outlook. It was admirable. While enjoying the moment, I got a glimpse of Kai staring at me and my cheeks suddenly reddened.

"Huh? Is there something on my face?"

"Oh! No, I was just remembering the offline party," he snapped back.

"Ah, that party was fun," I remarked and started recollecting the scenes in my head.

_Flashback_

_It was after school and I was standing by the gate waiting for Mrs. Kurokawa. I kept a look out for her and not too long, I finally spotted her, approaching me. She had her hair tied up in a bun, and she wore glasses, a knitted red sweater, a white cottony dress._

_"I'm sorry I took so long. I needed to tell my husband how to feed the baby," she apologized. "And I still have this big lump on me," she placed her hands on her stomach. "Sheesh, I've been exercising everyday to lose the pounds, but it's such a slow process."_

_I giggled at Mrs. Kurokawa's sense of humor. "It's okay, Mrs. Kurokawa," I smiled. "We can walk slowly to the café. There's no rush."_

_"Oh, sweetie. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," she laughed. "Now then, let's meet up with Kite! "_

_As we walked, Mrs. Kurokawa and I simply updated ourselves on how we both were doing with our lives. I told her about Fumikazu who wasn't allowed to play 'The World' for the mean time and we discussed about how her husband was injured by a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt, during his night shift._

_For awhile, thoughts run through my mind. I was going to meet Kite for the first time and I was pretty nervous. I haven't met the guy or seen his actual picture but all I know is that his been one of my closes friends and he saved my brother Kazu. _

_"Akira, what's wrong?" Mrs. Kurokawa asked. "Is it about the offline party?"_

_"Yeah, sorta…" I bit my lip._

_"Are you worried about seeing Kite?" I saw her grin teasingly._

_"O-oh, it's not… well… yeah…" I concluded and I just heard a giggle from her. "I-it's just… I mean… you know how I feel about Kite but… ugh…" I sighed miserably. Mistral already knew my feelings towards him since I mostly tell her my problems and she acts like an older sister I never had._

_"Aww, Akira…" she halted and patted my shoulder. "It'll be okay," she beamed. "Kite is a person we can all trust. He would always help others before him and he even risked his life for everyone. I'm sure that's enough information on what kind of person, Kite really is."_

_"Y-you're right," I smiled and we continued walking._

_"So, lover girl will you tell him when we get there?" she smirked._

_"I-I don't know. I--" I was stuttering. "L-lover girl?!"_

_"Ahh, young love…"_

_-----_

_Finally, we arrived in front of the café and just stood there._

_"Here we are," Mrs. Kurokawa stated._

_"Yeah."_

_I stared at the door for a moment, preparing myself to see Kite. It wasn't in my interest to go to an offline meeting but I ended up obliging to go. Kite even said that he would attend, so as his online partner I was certainly going too. _

_Though, I already thanked him in 'The World' I still wanted to thank him in person. I'm glad that Kite was the owner of the bracelet. I'm glad that I went through with all the challenges with him till the end. I'm glad I met Kite and I'm happy that I'm his friend. Perhaps I would tell him my feeling towards him as well, however I know that that issue is too soon and perhaps it might not work out. Right now, I just want to see him and get to know him. I braced myself, ready to enter what lies ahead._

_"Don't worry," she comforted me. "You're you, after all."_

_'Let's see who I meet first,' I thought._

_"They're all waiting, so let's go in," she opened the café door and we both went inside._

_As soon as I took my first step inside the café, I crashed into somebody._

"_Ah!" I felt myself almost falling, when swiftly a person grabbed my arm and helped me stand up. 'Wow, talk about fast reflexes.'_

_"Are you alright?" the person had a semi-deep voice._

_"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I replied and faced the person in front of me._

_"BlackRose?" I heard him say._

_It was a young man wearing an ordinary black school uniform. He was the same height as me and he had messy beige hair. _

_His azure eyes were so mesmerizing that I was so edgy trying to talk back, "W-wha? H-how do you know me?" At that moment, I finally realized that the person in front of me is probably none other than Kite himself. "A-are you Kite?"_

_"Yep. That's me," he friendly smirked and made a signature peace sign. "But my real name is Kaitou Sasaki," he pulled his hand out for a shake. "You can call me, Kai for short."_

_I don't know why but I manage to feel more comfortable. "Akira Hayami," I held his hand and shook it, then I brought it to a hug. "It's great to finally meet you, Kai." _

_"Me too, Akira," I heard him whisper._

_End of Flashback_

_The first person I saw was Kite after all. _I blushed, remembering the hug I unintentionally did. Shaking my head, the scent of food overwhelmed around me and Shouko has just served us our orders. I nodded and thanked her.

The whole time, Kai and I were just eating our meal. I caught him take a couple of glimpse at me, but I didn't react. _He probably wants me to say something. Ugh… but I don't know what to say. _I swallowed my food and at the same time sighed quietly.

"Do you still play on a tennis team?" he blurted.

My arms twitched a bit from Kai's sudden question, but luckily he didn't notice. "Uh, yeah," I answered and told him how we had to work harder this year in order to win home the trophy. _Hopefully, we do get the championship this year. I trained my butt off the summer and it better be all worth it,_ I pondered.

"Oh wow," he expressed. "Hm, do you know when will your first game will be?"

The coach hasn't told us yet, but since we're starting practice early, I'm guessing perhaps next month. "Probably next month," I replied. _Why does he want to know?_ I mulled over while drinking my glass of water. "How come?"

"Can I watch you play?"

"W-wha?" I almost felt myself spew the water out of my mouth, fortunately I swallowed it and coughed instead. "S-sure, if you want to."

"Great!" he happily cheered.

_I'm fairly nervous that Kai will be watching me play,_ I thought worriedly. _But I'll do my very best and show him how well I can really play._

There was another minute of silence. This time I chose to ask him a question and maybe it'll help us become closer friends like before.

"So Kai," I started. "How many are you in your family?"

"Hmm, it's just me, my mother, and my father," he finished his food.

_I see, Kai is an only child. _"Oh…" that was all I could say.

"I'm not sad or anything being an only child. I have my parents and my friends after all," he smiled. "Ahaha, but I'd always bother my mom giving me a pet for my birthday. She says she'll think about it," Kai stuck his tongue out and winked playfully.

I giggled. "You like animals then?" Kai nodded. "Kazu has a prairie dog, name Hana."

"Whoa, no way!" he gave me a happily astonished expression. "I didn't know you can have them as pets," he scratched his head.

"You should come over and play with her," I suggested and noticed that I've just asked Kai to visit my family._ Oh crud, what did say?! _I sweat dropped.

"Really? I'd like that a lot," he grinned.

_Huh? He said yes?_ "S-sure! Kazu would be excited if you'd visit sometimes," I implied, trying to use my younger brother as an excuse.

"I almost forgot," he uttered. "My mom wants you to come over for dinner every now and then."

_W-wha?! Does Kai mention me in his household? He barely knows me at all in real life,_ I raised my eyebrow and noticed Kai tilted his head, looking as if he wondered what I was thinking about.

"Oh, my family knows about you already. They manage to let me spill some of my secrets in the dinner table," he smiled sincerely.

_Secrets? Does he mean about the Twilight Incident? The bracelet? Or something else? _

"I shouldn't have told you before, online, but I keep forgetting," he bowed his head and continued. "But, would you like to come over sometime?"

"Y-yeah, sure thing!" I instantly answered, holding back my excitement.

The sky was darkening and we decided to go back downstairs and pay the bill.

-----

"Did you guys have fun?" Shouko innocently asked.

"Mhmm," I answered in a normal tone.

"I'll pay for it, Akira," Kai proposed and handed Shouko the money but she just gave it back to him.

"It's on me," she winked. "It's good to see Akira finally having someone with the same interest as her."

"A-Ack!" I exclaimed. _Shouko?! No you didn't…!_ I blushed intensely and peered at Kai who was just smiling.

We exited the internet café and Kai voluntarily wanted to walk me home. I protested, not wanting to give him any trouble. He still insisted and just liked me to go home safely. I was flattered and I felt my stomach flip.

_How can he say those things so naturally? That's just so sweet._ I heaved a deep sigh, feeling my heart beat a bit faster.

While going home, I thought about school which led to Hagiya. I mean, I wouldn't even let Hagiya do these types of things for me. If he found out about this day, he'd be extremely furious and jealous, so I had to keep it from him. Although, even if he tried to find out, it was none of his business.

_Kai is totally different from Hagiya._

I'm not trying to compare them, but taking aside my indecisive disposition, I think I know how I feel about Kai. My feelings for him are unlike Hagiya's.

At last, we arrived in front of my house.

* * *

**Kite's POV**

* * *

"Let me walk you home, Akira," I told her.

"A-ah, I can walk by myself," she objected. "I don't want to keep you farther away from your house."

"It's alright. It isn't that far anyways, I can take a shortcut," I insisted. "I just want to make sure you'd be home safely," I answered honestly. Somehow I felt that sentence came out openly. Since, I'm responsible for this arrangement, I usually think that guys escort the girls back home.

_I think that's how it suppose to go…? _I asked myself mentally. _Paying the bill is part of it too, right? _I scratched my head, recalling that I didn't get to pay for the meal.

"Um," she paused. "Oh. Okay. But you really didn't have to do this…" I heard her say softly and sighed.

We walked to her house quietly and at the same time I was thinking. I haven't thought of it before but I realized how much I missed spending time with BlackRose in "The World." We use to feed our barnyard of Grunties every now and then, go questing for rare items, and most of all we'd sometimes just rest on a plain field and enjoy the graphical scenery of the game.

_Those were fun times, _I smiled.

But thankfully I attended the same school as Akira and I'm relieved that I can still hang-out with her, like before.

"We're here," Akira declared and halt to a stop.

I observed the place. It had a short designed gate which surrounded the front porch filled with a neatly planted garden. And beyond the front yard was the apartment building itself.

"I had fun today," Akira said contently.

"Same here," I grinned. "Well, I'll see ya in school tomorrow," I waved and began walking when unexpectedly I felt my blazer pulled and I twirled, facing her.

"Kai…" she made eye contact with me. "Thank you so much…" she warmly smiled.

My eyes slightly widened and I felt a huge gulp in my throat. When I saw the way she smiled at me, I felt my heart lightly throb and everything around me got warmer. I couldn't describe what I kind of sensation I was experiencing right now, though it felt wonderful.

"No problem," I did a peace sign and I watched her walk inside her apartment and close the door.

I place my hand on my forehead, checking my temperature.

_Hn? Am I getting a fever?_

* * *

**A/N: You know I think the dot hack section deserves a pairing search engine. There are so many characters that it's hard to track the pairings. The other animes which have lesser stories have _that_ type of search engine already. How come we don't have it?**

**Well anyways, YOSH! I did it…! (cries sadly and happily) What do you think? **

**Tune in for the next chapter!**

**Edit: Thanks to RyougaZell for pointing out my mistake. You gave me a better background view of how the outline is going to be for the couple of chapters I have to do. And I was also suppose to include those two characters as well. The background information is very important in the fanfiction, you'll all find out later. Anyways, thanks again Ryouga! (gives a cookie) bwuahaha! **


	6. Chapter 6: Welcoming Wish

**Disclaimer: I don't own any .hack/ series and everything from it.**

**.Hack/Our World**

**Chapter 6: .hack/our world/welcoming wish  
**

* * *

**BlackRose's POV**

* * *

The golden rings vanished and I opened my eyes. The watery resonance of the river greeted my arrival and the sincere music loomed everywhere, bringing me back previous memories of this place. Everything around me felt new. A feeling of excitement and nervousness came over my body. It was the same feeling when I first came to here. The Water Capital Mac Anu. The World.

_Here I am again, _my smile crooked. Players passed by and some chatted there way to the inner-city. Slowly walking away from the warp gate, I felt a light tap on my shoulder, giving me a startling jolt. My shoulders relaxed when I saw the person. "Don't do that to me! Giving me a heart attack!" I gave a sigh.

The character in front of me had blue green hair with dim azure eyes, wearing a unique red outfit imprinted with golden symbols. "Sorry, Akira. I didn't mean to scare you," Kite apologized.

"Shhh!" I placed my index finger on my lips. "Let's stick with BlackRose," I looked around cautiously, hoping my other school friends weren't online.

"It's great to see you online. I've missed having you around," my partner chuckled.

"Eh? What do you mean? You sound like you haven't seen me in ages. I just saw you after school,"my cheeks reddened a little.

"Oh right," he scratched his head.

I rolled my eyes but smiled. Though, it _is_ great to see The World again, even if Kite talked his way into making me login. I did miss everything about it, excluding the risk of getting into a coma. Yet, if the Twilight Incident didn't occur, I might not have met Kite at all. Not that I'm sounding gratefully about the troublesome event. I'm happy to be friends with him.

"What now?" I asked, killing the silence we had. "Come on we don't got all day! I'm pumped up and ready for some questing!" I held up my heavy blade by my shoulder.

He smiled. "Let's go over to town first, then maybe we can decide on what to do," he said assuredly.

I nodded and followed. When we entered the main part of town, I noticed some changes with the stores and background settings. The place looked bigger and it had wider routes. I slowed down my pace in every corner of buildings we pass by, trying to become familiar with some of them and at the same time admiring the new graphical buildings.

"BlackRose?"

I shook my head, turning to face Kite. "What happened? Mac Anu is totally…"

"Different?" he continued. "Lios and Balmung have recently been updating the game for the past months."

"Hah! Those two working together again?" I snorted, studying the graphics of the area. "I suppose they did good with the updates," I nodded acceptingly.

"From what I heard from Lios, he says Balmung is responsible for the gaming events," Kite looked up wonderingly with his hand on his chin. "Now that I mention it. Balmung, did gave me an e-mail before he put it up on the Board."

I tilted my head curiously. "Huh? Isn't that unfair? You already know what the event is about."

"Well not really. He didn't give me any details about the event." My online partner bowed his head down sheepishly. "He just said something weird and it kinda bothers me," he chuckled tensely.

"Forward me the e-mail. I want to read it," I pulled my hand out. He nodded and not too soon, I received a flash mail. "Thanks. Alright let's see…" Before I could open my inbox, a black pop-up appeared on my FMD.

**--**

**Attention to all players. **

**Current updates are being performed soon. An auto-log out program will be presented in the game. **

**Please Stand By…**

**--**

I was automatically logged off. "Argh!"

My screen turned light scarlet and I was back on the main menu. I sighed, _So much for playing The World. _While I boringly stared at the screen, I spotted a tiny envelope on my Mail. I clicked it and it was the forward e-mail that Kite gave me.

**--**

**-FW: Flashmail-**

**Sender: Balmung**

**Subject: New Event**

**Kite, **

**Do you know what today is? Are you familiar with the story between two star-crossed lovers who were to only meet once a year? Perhaps today you will find your 'Orihime.'**

**--**

"What the heck is Balmung trying to tell Kite?" I weirdly stared at the screen. "He has a weird way of expressing words. No wonder Kite is so bothered by it! It's creeping me out too," I felt goosebumps on my arms. I read the last sentence again and my brain tweaked as if I remembered something but soon forgot.

_An 'Orihime?' Could it be?_

Suddenly, another mail popped out.

**--**

**We apologize for the interruption earlier. New updates are set up. Please read the Board for information.**

**The World is now available. Thank you for your patience.**

**--**

Immediately, I clicked the very top icon on my screen then continued to the message board. The first topic was brightly lighting and I clicked it.

**--**

**July Event**

**To: All**

**Author: Balmung, CC Corp Administrator**

** Tonight will be a wonderful evening for everyone--especially in The World! We will be having another first new special event! This special celebration is for the commemoration of two star-crossed lovers! So in the name of love! Join us! It will be held in The Water Capital Mac Anu and the prize will be announced live! This special event lasts once a year and only today! **

**And remember don't stick in the water too long!**

**--**

With both hands, I covered my mouth trying to avoid my burst of laughter. "You've got to be kidding!" I exclaimed. '_In the name of love!' Ahahaha! Hilarious! Balmung and his corny writing style! _After a couple of minutes my laughter died down and I logged in back to The World.

Soon enough, after being warped back, I found myself wearing a violet-pink cherry blossom kimono. "Whoa!" I tugged the pixeled clothing. _I've never seen __**this**__ before!_

"Whaaa! BlackRose! You finally came back!" a cheery voice called.

I twirled around and to my surprise the person who called me was Mistral. "Mistral!" She was wearing a white kimono designed with sky blue clouds and a cute yellow sun on one side. I ran up to her and we greeted each other with a warm hug. "It's been so long! How are you and your baby?" we released our embrace.

"I'm less bloaty now. My little baby already made her first baby steps today," Mistral proudly announced.

"Wow! Congratulations! Last time I saw her, she was just cradling by your arms. Can I come visit you sometimes and see her?"

The wave master nodded happily. "Kyuuu! I can't believe you finally came back! Especially today!" She jumped up and down joyfully. "You're so cute in your kimono," she studied my clothes carefully, like a rare item.

I sweat dropped. _Same old Mistral. _Lately, I keep Mrs. Kurokawa in mind about what's been happening in my life and vice versa on hers'. I already told her about Kai enrolling in my high school and the 'date' we had. She sounded more excited than me but I wouldn't consider that as a 'date', since Kai and I are just friends.

"Oh! Oh!" she blurted. "Is Kite here? I sent him a party meet but no response. Wonder why."

"Maybe. Let's go look for him," I suggested as we walked by the crowded streets of Mac Anu.

At last, we escaped the crowded sea of players and ended up by a deserted bamboo area. "When did the town grow bamboos?" I scratched my head, clueless.

"No silly!" Mistral lightly patted my arm. "Remember in real life? We usually hang parchments on the bamboos with our wishes, hoping it will be answered?" she stated and I nodded. "It's the same here!"

"Ah! Today is the Tanabata festival?" I counted my fingers to make sure. "Wait a second. No that can't be right… Tomorrow is the official date for it," I pouted. "What the heck? Balmung got the date wrong!"

"No, no, no," Mistral giggled. "In every event, they normally hold it before the real thing. It gives all of us time to both enjoy the online and real life festivals!" she explained.

"Oh… Makes sense," I replied.

"Here, write something!" she happily handed me a parchment and we both started writing. After I was done with mine, I searched for a suitable place somewhere by the bamboos to hung my card. A few steps later, I found the perfect bamboo area. I stood straight, holding the paper firmly by my chest, praying that it may answer my wish. Once I was finished, I hung it delicately on the bamboo and watched it sway smoothly with the breeze.

While the wind whistled, I heard a rustle by the bushes. I hesitated and I hid inside the bamboo shrubs. Heavy breathing and foot steps came beside me and it halted, just standing there, sounding tired. _Someone's here…!_ I felt the bamboos rustle against me.

Unexpectedly, I felt a hand on my arm and I frightfully jumped out of my hiding place. "AHHHH!" I shrieked loudly and felt something break my fall.

"Wha--!"

I blinked, seeing the person who I landed unto. "Kite!?"

"Ouch…" he rubbed his forehead. "That was some fall…" he looked up and gazed right at me. "BlackRose?" Like his regular outfit, Kite wore the same bright crimson clothing, except it was a yukata-style.

"I-I.. I-I was just…" I stuttered nervously. Even if we were online it still felt like we were in an awkward position. I could hardly breathe. My face was too close and I could feel his soft breathing against my flustered cheeks. "W-what a-are you doing here?"

"I uhh… just taking a stroll," he promptly scratched his head. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." I wobbly got up and helped Kite stand. "Thanks," he smiled.

"Whaa! BlackRose! I heard a scream!" Mistral popped out with her wand, swinging it aimlessly and she walked over us. "Are you…alright…?" she asked and I nodded. The wave master looked over behind me and noticed Kite. "Oh! You found him! Great! The Tanabata Event is going to start any minute now!" She directly pulled his hand and grabbed mine too, "Come on you slowpokes! I don't wanna miss this for the world!" Mistral dragged us out of the forest.

* * *

**Kite's POV**

* * *

My computer screen blinked and loaded. I clutch my FMD goggles over my head and wore it. Like other days, Akira and I would make plans after school and hang-out but since she was busy with tennis practice, I was able to convince her into playing The World with me when she arrives home instead. She sounded unsure about the idea at first, but she decided she needed to make up for it, given that we didn't get to spend time after school. I smirked happily and I was in the main menu. Scanning my mouse around the left-side icons, my mailer had a tiny mail attached to it. I clicked and the window opened.

**--**

**Sender: Balmung**

**Subject: New Event**

**Kite, **

**Do you know what today is? Are you familiar with the story between two star-crossed lovers who were to only meet once a year? Perhaps today you will find your 'Orihime.'**

**--**

I rotated my chair, checking my calendar. _July 6__th__. Nothing special,_ I shrugged and lingered about the next two sentence._Star-crossed lovers? My 'Orihime?' _Now, I was really confused. Whatever it was, Balmung's e-mail gave me bad shivers behind my spine.

Putting aside the thoughts running through my head, I exit out of my mail and went straight to the game. Once I was warped behind the rotating circled-gate, I saw a player with a familiar outfit; violet tights, a cottony white skirt attached with violet armor leggings, and her only top an armored bra. I blushed at the fact that her only top clothing was a bra. It _was_ revealing and from our past adventures I had these bad gut feeling that the guys would only approach our way when I'm with her. This person was my online partner, BlackRose.

I advance a step or two towards her and poked her shoulder. She backed away but relaxed when she turned around facing me.

"Don't do that to me! Giving me a heart attack!" she pouted angrily.

I gesture my hands to her, trying to calm her down. I didn't want to upset her. "Sorry, Akira. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Shhh! Let's stick with BlackRose," she doggedly shushed me.

I nodded and continued. "It's great to see you online. I've missed having you around."

Akira tilted her head with a weird out facial expression. "Eh? What do you mean? You sound like you haven't seen me in ages. I just saw you after school."

"Oh right," I retorted. _I mean in The World. _With the way she looked, I felt that she didn't want to be here. _Of course she wouldn't, _I thought. This was the cause of her brother's coma. It meant life or death in this game. It was no joke playing around and searching for virus cores then battling the phases. This game was dangerous to her, why else would Akira play this game, she wouldn't even let Fumikazu play again after we defeated Cubia. _It's just a bad memory for her. I might as well just cancel out, _I sighed.

"What now?" she uttered.

_Hn? _I scratched my head.

"Come on we don't got all day!" BlackRose crossed her arms with an annoyed smile on her face.

I was laughing in the inside. I just noticed that BlackRose was Akira's alter ego. Tough in the outside but sincere in the inside.

"I'm pumped up and ready for some questing!" she exclaimed strong-mindedly.

My face lit up. _She wants to stay? _"Let's go over to town first, then maybe we can decide on what to do," I pointed straight ahead and started walking. I was wrong after all. BlackRose wanted to be here as much I wanted. The World brought me good memories of my friends and I assume she does too.

After a short amount of walking, I noticed BlackRose was following behind me fairly slow. So I approached her and ask her what's wrong.

"What happened? Mac Anu is totally…"

"Different?" I finished. I explained to her that Balmung had made an alliance with Lios, helping him with The World. BlackRose laughed at the thought but she let me continue on with the explanations. As far as talking about this topic, I decided to tell her about Balmung's e-mail earlier.

"Now that I mention it. Balmung, did gave me an e-mail before he put it up on the Board."

She frowned. "Huh? Isn't that unfair? You already know what the event is about."

I shook my head, "He just said something weird and it kinda bothers me."

She instantly took her hand out and demandingly asked what the e-mail was about. I nodded and sent her a forward e-mail. She thanked me but before we could talk about it my FMD goggles blackened and an announcement of an auto-logout appeared. I took the device off my head and sulked down my chair. When it comes to mysterious e-mails, BlackRose and I work well together solving it. But since Lios needed to update the game, it had to wait. _Great timing,_ I sarcastically thought.

While I waited, I checked the calendar again. It was the 6th of July, no holiday or whatsoever was going to happen today. When I looked at the next day, it was July 7th. Before I came home, Yasuhiko was telling me about the types of events that Balmung was going to create. He did mention something about the Tanabata festival appearing as an event but he was unsure of it.

_Flashback_

_"Hey Kai! Got a sec?" my best friend asked, promptly sitting himself down beside me._

_"Hn?" I nodded unknowingly while I was absorbedly reading my new sci-fi book._

_"Did you know tomorrow is the Tanabata Festival?" _

_"Uh-huh," I continued, still reading my book. _

_"Well did you know there's a story behind the festival? It's about…" Yasuhiko started telling the story. Although, I was so fixed with the book I was reading, I decided to keep nodding like I was paying attention. _

_"Hey…" I felt a nudge. "Hey! Kai!" Yasuhiko yelled. "Are you listening to my story?"_

_I snapped back and nodded. "Uh, yeah. I already know the story. I think…" I scratched my head, trying to remember the story from elementary school. "Err, it's about this girl name Orihime and some guy who falls in love with her and stuff…" I manage to summarize the main parts. Yasuhiko's face was giving 'you-weren't-listening-to-me' expression. "Bah! Yeah you're somewhat right. But you could have at least listened to my story a bit more. You never know… a teacher might suddenly give a pop-quiz about it!" he fixed his glasses._

_I chuckled, "Yeah, right."_

_"So are you going down to the shrines? Cause if you are Fumikazu and I are going."_

_"Sure," I went back reading my book but before I could read a sentence Yasuhiko snatched it from me._

_End of Flashback_

"Damn, Yasuhiko still has my book," I lightly hit my forehead then suddenly, the word 'Orihime' popped out of my head. _It could be possible… _It was a hunch. The e-mail and the Tanabata festival were somehow connected. I really wanted to know what Balmung was trying to say. But before I could carry on meditating, I received a new mail, telling me that The World has updated and everyone can login._Finally! _I put my FMD goggles and I went to the Board where it had the word 'new' appeared shiningly. I clicked it and read the new topic.

"It's an event," I mumbled to myself, while reading.

**--**

**July Event**

**To: All**

**Author: Balmung, CC Corp Administrator**

** Tonight will be a wonderful evening for everyone--especially in The World! We will be having another first new special event! This special celebration is for the commemoration of two star-crossed lovers! So in the name of love! Join us! It will be held in The Water Capital Mac Anu and the prize will be announced live! This special event lasts once a year and only today! **

**And remember don't stick in the water too long!**

**--**

My mind was still filled with question marks and from Balmung's announcement, filled with exclamation marks. The e-mail I got earlier and this event were by some means related, yet I couldn't put a finger on it. _I know the Tanabata festival was about two star-crossed lovers but does it have to do with the e-mail? _I shook my head. Right now, my priority was playing The World with BlackRose. I should put aside this shenanigan and will just solve it later.

When I entered The World in Mac Anu the first thing I saw were a multiple warp ins from players._Looks like they're here for the event. _While I sneakily walked around, I detected that everyone weren't wearing their armors. The girls were wearing kimonos while the guys wore yukatas. I glanced down on my clothes and I was also wearing a red yukata. I checked to see if I was still wearing my hat--it was gone. I shrugged and commence my way out of the busy streets heading towards the roomier vicinity.

Passing by some parties, I overheard a couple of girls gossiping about the announcement.

"Eeek! I'm so excited!" a girl squealed. "This event is going to be so romantic! Eeep!"

"For sure!" another cheered. "I wonder how it'll turn out. What the prize will be. Got any guesses?"

"Ah, maybe a rare weapon…" a serious tone said.

"Uhmm… maybe a rare Golden Grunty as a pet!"

"Maybe a rare armor…"

"Perhaps… a new super deluxe edition outfit. Like cat ears or wolf ears! So cuute!"

"Maybe a rare shield…"

"Oooo! Maybe the moderators will select one of the girls and make them a princess 'Orihime'!"

_Princess Orihime? _I went closer to hear clearer.

"Or…" the previous girl who asked, wondered. "Or, it could be a date with the Descendants of Fianna!"

"OMG! OMG! EEEK!" the squealing girl yelped loudly. "NO WAY!"

"Yeah. That'd make an even better prize," she winked. "You can make Balmung of The Azure Sky sweep you off your feet with his beautiful angelic wings."

The other girl nodded with her eyes closed. "Or fight hard-core bosses with Orca of The Azure Sea."

"Awww! Only two?" the squeaky girl pouted. "Oooo! Isn't there another cutie?"

A jolt came to me. I felt a strange feeling that I'm involved with this. _But I'm not part of Descendants of Fianna. Am I?_

"Hold on a sec… Are you talking about the new recruiter, The Legendary TwinBlader, Kite?" the other girl asked the hyper one.

_Me?! When did I become 'legendary!?'_

"Oh! Yep! That's him!" she shrieked. "Even if Balmung is the coolest and best looking. Kite-san's the cutest!"

"You've heard too?" the stern voice spoke. "Lately, my sources said that he's been titled as Kite of The Azure Flame. One of the strongest Twinblader in The World and now part of the legendary group. Holder of the rarest twinblade."

"Added to that idea, he always takes his time helping newbies. It's hard to get a glimpse of him," the girl sighed.

"Yeah," the other girl heaved. "I wish we can see him someday."

"Oh whatever. We'll just see what happens in the event, later."

The three girls made me wonder--they could be right about this event. The Tanabata Festival. Star-crossed lovers. Orihime. Balmung's e-mail. It sums up. I ruffled my hair, trying to remember the story behind the Tanabata Festival. _If only I listened! _From what I know from elementary, the story was about a daughter of a Sky King, Orihime who falls in love with that Cow Herder.

I set my back against a cold brick wall. _Wait… if I'm figuring this right. Balmung's message was talking about… '__**Perhaps today you will find your Orihime…'**_

"I'M THE COW HERDER, HIKOBOSHI?!" I involuntarily shouted out loud.

The noisy chatting stopped. The calming sound of the river and the melodically music was only heard behind me. All eyes were on me.

"Oh by golly! It's **him!** It's Kite of The Azure Flame!"

One word came to mind. Run! The soft steps were now becoming loud stampedes chasing after me. I ran for my sake. I could have easily logged off but that would be a cowardice and bad example to the public. After hearing the girls talk about me, I already set a good example for them. All I could do was run and they would think that the event already started. I kept running and dodging the players blocking my way. Further away, I was beginning to approach an unusual green region.

Finally, I reached the area and to my relief it was filled with bamboos especially set up for the Tanabata Event. _I'll be able to lose them here,_ I breathed tiredly. I struggled going through the bamboos enclosing me. The clothing from yukata were sometimes stuck to it and so I cut some bamboos on my way, giving myself a clear path.

At last, the bamboos stopped appearing and I ended up in a circled location with a small shroud of bamboos in the middle. I stop to catch my breathe and properly straightened my yukata, taking the leaves off my hair. I inspected the place and I stared at the plant in front of me while I drew near it. There was a paper hanging on one of the bamboos.

_A parchment? Who could have--?_

Out of the blue, I sense that I wasn't alone in the area. I heard a crunching sound from the grassy leaves inside the covered bamboos and felt somebody's clothes. _Hn?_

"AHHHH!"

I covered my ears from the scream and before I knew what was happening a person landed on top of me.

"Kite!?"

"Ouch. That was some fall," I grunted, rubbing my head from the sudden jump. I blinked and saw a pink-haired girl wearing a designed cherry-blossom kimono. "BlackRose?"

We were face to face and I could see her cheeks turning red. She was stuttering but managed to speak. "W-what a-are you doing here?"

"I uhh… just taking a stroll," I replied and gulped. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she offered me a hand and I took it, helping me get up. "Thanks."

Another crackle noise appeared and it was coming from the other side. "Whaa! BlackRose! I heard a scream!" It's Mistral. "Are you…alright…?" she asked BlackRose and turned to me. "Oh! You found him! Great! The Tanabata Event is going to start any minute now! Come on you slowpokes! I don't wanna miss this for the world!" She eagerly took our hands and yanked us away from the bamboo region and to the river area.

While we walked I looked over at my online partner. "BlackRose, I have to tell you something. I figured it out," I whispered.

"Huh?" she placed her hand on her ear, trying to hear me. "What?"

We arrived by the crowded area of the river where the gamers stood and hanged-out for awhile, waiting for the event to start. Mistral released her grip and she jumped up and down checking to see what was happening in front.

"I.see.a.stage," she said while bouncing her feet into each word. "Some.one.is.over.there.with.a.micro.phone," she continued.

"So, Kite what did you want to tell me?" BlackRose reminded.

"Remember the forward I gave you?" she nodded. "Balmung is going to--"

Rather than resuming the details to BlackRose, the loud speakers interrupted. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you for coming! I'm pleased to personally be the host of this year's first Tanabata Event!" The NPC announcer welcomed.

"BlackRose! Listen to me!" I moved her, face to face with me. "Balmung! Is planning to--"

"It's time for the main event! We will be doing a reenactment of the two star-crossed lovers meeting in their only day! Lunar day…" the NPC continued. "It is called the 'River Race'."

"Speak louder, Kite!" BlackRose responded.

"Among the popularity votes in The World. We have already selected a part for the Cow Herder, Hikoboshi! The rest of you will compete and play as the Princess Orihime."

"I know what the e-mail is about!" she nodded, giving me a sign that she heard me. "Balmung is making me become part of this event!"

"What!?" she scooted closer. "I can't hear you!"

I took in a large sum of air in order to speak louder.

"Now, without further ado this year's Cow Herder is…"

I closed my eyes, ready to blurt it out to her, "I'M--"

"None other than…"

"--HIKOBOSHI!"

* * *

**BlackRose's POV**

* * *

The event was starting. Kite who was beside me, tried to tell me something important concerning Balmung's e-mail but seeing that everything in our surroundings was noisy, we couldn't communicate very well. All I was able to hear was NPC's announcement and the cheering online players.

Kite looked pretty annoyed by the deafening, so he pulled my shoulders, scooting me closer. I blushed a bit. He took a deep breathe, so I'm guessing he was going to speak up louder than usual.

"I'M--" he spoke but from out of nowhere, Kite unexpectedly vanished before my eyes.

"Kite!? How'd you? Where'd you go!?"

"--HIKOBOSHI!" his voice was heard on the other side.

I looked over and spotted the stage where Kite was now standing. _H-how'd he get over there? What's going on?!_ I shifted through the crowds going closer to the stage.

"Thaaaat's right!" Hundreds of confetti and balloons flew up the air. "Now will our young romantic Cow Herder, do the honors of introducing himself to the audience?" the NPC host handed Kite his microphone.

"I… uhh… Hi everyone!" I could see Kite's red face. "Err, I'm Kite… I'm fourteen. My favorite color is aqua green and uhh," he's face eased. "I'm in high school. I like to play soccer with my friends and I like socializing and helping new people who I meet in The World."

The crowd of girls abruptly boomed with a crazy cheer.

"What's your e-mail address?!"

"Kite I think your super cute!"

"What high school do you go to?!"

"Do you have a girlfriend?!"

"Ack!" people were squeezing me in and it was getting harder to see Kite.

"People settled down! Save the questions for later!" the announcer calmed the crowd. "That is if you are going to…" he smirked. "…win the date."

Balmung was standing next to Kite and that's when I realized that this was all his doing. The forward message that Kite gave me, made final sense. _What?! Is he serious? No way I'm letting him do that! _I forcefully pass through the crowds, ready to go up to the stage and pulp Balmung's wings out._Who does he think he is taking Kite without his approval!_ Almost reaching the wooden stage, the ground suddenly rumbled.

"We shall now set the area of the event!"

_Whoa! What's happening? _The setting was altered. The river looked wider and bigger. It lead to an island surrounded by water, where Kite was held hostage.

"Everyone knows that at the night of the Tanabata festival is the one night when the Princess and Cow Herder were suppose to meet." the host began. "Both lovers had to cross the Amanogawa River in order to see each other. Now! We'll see who can cross this vast river for a date with Kite of the Azure Flames!"

_Don't worry Kite! I'm coming to get you! _I switched back to my battle suit and held my heavy blade by shoulder, positioning myself near the river's water, ready to cross.

"I would never have predicted that you would return to The World, BlackRose. "Especially on the night of the Star Festival."

I looked to my right. The owner of the voice had light brunette hair, blue eyes, and her character was wearing a white dress with a halo on her head and angel wings on her back. "T-Terajima Ryoko?" _Great just what I needed. Competition. _Terajima Ryoko. My rival at the same time a friend. She and I seem to have a competitive attitude to one another being around Kite. The time we went as a party in 'that place' came to mind. Ω Raging Facing Mirror's Virgin.It was a maze which made the situation worst. Terajima and I were having a disagreement in which way we should go and we ended up in an argument. Eventually, when we angrily ganged up on Kite and disband the quest. But we settled the issue in a mature manner and apologized. We even made a prank on Kite because it was his fault for being indecisive. I still didn't like her guts.

"This race will likely determine anybody who is worthy for Kite, wouldn't you agree?" she falsely smiled.

I irritatingly nodded.

"BlackRose! It's good to see you again. I don't see you anymore," the person to my left greeted. It was my good friend Natsume who I still keep in contact through e-mail.

"Oh, hey Natsume," I returned. "Yeah, same here."

"By the way," she paused. "Did you get my e-mail yesterday? I want to talk about it."

Natsume is quite the talker when it comes to me. "Um, let's catch up with the talking after the event, alright?"

She nodded and smiled, "Good luck."

"You too."

"Everyone ready?!" the NPC announced. The people behind me were pumped up and ready to swim.

_This is it!_

"Ready!" he started. We all went closer to the water. "Begin!" he declared.

I hurriedly stepped over the water and it almost reached my shoulder. _It's getting deeper. _I kept swimming when out of nowhere, I felt a sudden movement below my ankles. _What the--?!_ A blue triangle shaped-object circled around a group of guys and it jerked upwards. It was a sting-ray shark! To my other side there were a couple of players who sank. A huge green crab came out and grabbed them. _There are monsters?! _

"Oh. And a reminder." the NPC spoke. "Beware of lurking sharks, crawling crabs and other monsters underwater. One of them has a special prize so keep a look out! Swim safely!"

_What the hell?! Swim safely?!_ Cautiously, I swam straight ahead to the areas of the river that had overhead rocks. It was so far a good strategy, to avoid the monsters. While I was moving smoothly without enemies interrupting me, I spotted Natsume who was in trouble.

"Ahhh! Ola Reph!" Natsume cried, casting a healing spell on herself while two Hammer Sharks circled her.

Without thinking, I rushed by her side and swung my weapon at the shark, causing a minor damage on its' fin. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, thanks BlackRose," she smiled thankfully.

"No problem," I smirked, struggling to block the shark's attack. _These monster's are strong!_ "Let's do a combo attack!" At the same time, Natsume and I used an attack skill.

"Rai Divider!"

"Tiger Claw!"

The hits were a success but the monsters counterattacked, knocking us deep underwater. Another shark came up behind me and I lost most of my hit points. _Three sharks. This is bad. _I thought. We breathe our way up and we were surrounded. Any sudden moves and surely we were going to be beaten.

"Rairaku!" a deep voice appeared, bashing the sharks out the way.

"Sanjuro!" Natsume exclaimed happily.

"Here!" he tossed us two healing elixirs. "Take 'em," he whacked another one off a rock, defeating it. We drank the potions and our hit points were fully recovered. "Thanks for weakening them for me BlackRose."

"Ah-heh. You're welcome."

"What took you so long?" Natsume asked him.

"Sorry, I got an important call from school," he apologized.

"BlackRose," Natsume called, looking at me. "Thanks, but we can take it from here."

"Wait, but I-- you still need my help."

She shook her head. "Don't worry Sanjuro and I can usually handle it. These were our opponents to begin with."

I nodded. "Alright then. Don't die on me!" I swam backwards still watching them fight.

"The Hanged Man!" Sanjuro used a magical scroll. The monsters were instantly paralyzed and they began beating them at an advantage. They gave me a thumbs up and I smiled, resuming my way to the island.

Before I knew it, I was one length away from the finish line. Kite stood there smiling right in front of me. _Yes! Almost there! _

"Yaah!" From a far, I heard another shriek and it was from Terajima Ryoko.

I bit my lip and ran back to the distressed petite heavy axe. I knew I was going to regret it but I needed to help her. The monster was a gigantic crab, named The Great Jaws. Right when it was about to hit Terajima, I came in just on time and pushed her off. Luckily, I only lost a small amount of hit points from the impact.

"B-BlackRose?!" she looked astonished.

"Just don't stand there! Do something!" I grunted, defending myself from the crab's claws.

"R-right!" she swung her axe carelessly but fortunately it hit the crab's protective shell.

"Hey! Be careful with that thing! You could hurt someone!" I scolded. I jumped up the air and executed an attack skill, "Calamity!" The crab fell on the ground, yet it wasn't dead. Terajima kept swerving her weapon back and forth which nearly hit me. It was getting on my nerves. "Terajima, get out of here! You're in the way," I bashed the monster again. "Go to the finish line already!"

"You do not have the right to tell me what to do."

"Argh!" I shoved her aside, moving her away from the monster. "Just go to the finish line and end stupid event!" I waved my hand signaling her to leave.

"Ack! Fine!" She swam at a near distant. "This does not change anything between us, BlackRose!" she declared and she headed to were Kite was.

"Psh! Whatever!" I smugly smirked. _I'd take that as a 'thank you.'_ My sword clashed blades with the crab's claw, forcing me to move backwards. The Great Jaws used its' other claw and knocked me off to the water. I frustratingly gritted my teeth from the huge lost of hit points I received. I constantly used up all of my recovery drinks but it wasn't enough to fully recover my bar. _Damn! No good!_

"Ola Repth!"

To my amazement, Mistral showed up, recuperating my health bar. "Thank god, you're here!" I said, relieve.

"Yeeep! Mistral at your service!" she winked and dodged the monster's attack. "Lanceor Ch!" she summoned the God of Thunder, causing a massive thundershock around the crab, paralyzing it.

"Go! Go! BlackRose! Kick ass!" the hyper-wave master rooted, casting magical boosts on my character.

My strength, defense, accuracy, and intelligence increased, enhancing my battle moves and skills. I swiftly evaded our enemy's assaults. One by one I clobbered its' defensive shell and finally it crumbled to pieces, leaving it's bare film. Although, it was still strong. It launched a special attack that I haven't seen before and flung me back. Mistral threw several high-offensive magic spells and restored my health. I could see the creature's life bar in its red zone and I knew it was time to finish it. I took up all my energy and charged straight towards it.

"Rai Divider!" The monster roared, falling with a huge splash. It disappeared and a shining golden treasure box materialized.

"Oooo! A treasure box! Wonder what's inside?" Mistral opened it. "Neat-o! Another rare item! Goddess Tanabata's Sacred Robe!" she jumped for joy.

"Sooo close! And yes! There she goes!" the event host proclaimed. "This year's winner is Terajima Ryoko!" All the monsters vanished and left many disappointed gamers standing. "And there we have it folks! This year's Tanabata Event is over! Thank you for playing! Good Night!" the NPC concluded and everyone started leaving.

I glanced over the stage where Terajima and Kite were merrily talking to one another. I turned my back and started walking back to shore. _That could have been me over there with Kite,_ I smiled sadly.

"BlackRose, whazzup?" Mistral followed.

"Nothing," I smiled sadly, staring at the dry ground.

"Doesn't seem like a 'nothing'," she pouted. "Is it the prize? You can have it," she held the sacred clothing in front of me.

I shook my head. "No, keep it," I closed her hand. "It's nothing, Mistral. Really," I stopped, faced her and forced a smile.

She tipped her toes and patted the top of my head. "Well e-mail me 'kay? My husband just arrived home and the baby's crying," she grinned sheepishly. "G'nite, BlackRose. I had fun. Come visit me anytime," she stuck her tongue out playfully and warped out.

"Bye. Thanks," I waved. I looked down and let my feet lead me wherever.

Soon, leaves ruffled my hair, taking notice that I ended up in the bamboo area once again. The crickets whirred pleasingly and the game's graphical night sky helped me feel less tensed. I walked to the spot where I hung my wish in the isolated bamboo shroud. A number of fireflies glowed in various directions. I admired the view. It was breathtaking.

While I watched the fireflies, my mind began to wonder about today's turnabouts. _Why did I even bother joining this event? It's not like I care about winning it… _I tiredly sighed. _At least Terajima won it than someone else. No big deal, right? _My head buzzed. Wrong. _Who am I kidding? I'm deceiving myself. Let's be honest. I wanted to win. I was going to win this event for Kite._ My eyes were beginning to give in. "Ah, well no use whining about it," I told myself. _It's getting late. I might as well go to bed._ I heaved a sigh, "I barely spent some time with him today." I heard a sound of cracking bamboos behind me but I paid no attention to it. I logged out and went to bed.

* * *

**Kite's POV**

* * *

"Hn? Hello? Anyone there?" I called out. _They must have left._ I marched to the previous place where I bumped into BlackRose. For some reason, I felt that this was the perfect spot to hang my parchment. It was quiet and the wind's brisk went well for the bamboos. I hung my wish on the bamboo beside the paper I saw before. I was tempted to read it but decided against it.

_It wouldn't be right…_ I closed my eyes, backing away from the bamboo.

A green light unexpectedly appeared. I blinked and looked around me. The place was filled with fireflies. I sat on the grassy ground for a moment and began reminiscing about today's Tanabata Event.

_Flashback_

_Bright yellow lights blinded my view and before I could recognize my surroundings, I was on stage where everyone in The World can see me. Balloons rose and popped and the confetti spread everywhere. "Thaaaat's right!" the NPC beside me exclaimed. "Now will our young romantic Cow Herder, do the honors of introducing himself to the audience?" _

_He gave me a microphone and I took it, slowly bringing it near my lips. "I… uhh…" cold sweat ran on my forehead. Everyone was staring at me and I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. "Hi everyone!" I tried to stay calm. "Err, I'm Kite…" I began steadily. "I'm fourteen…" I was beginning to feel more confident. "My favorite color is aqua green and uhh… I'm in high school." I wiped the sweat off my forehead and smiled. "I like to play soccer with my friends and I like socializing and helping new people who I meet in The World."_

_The audience went wild and random questions were shouted. The host snatch the microphone from me_ "_People settled down! Save the questions for later!" he looked at me, grinning mischievously. "That is if you are going to…win the date."_

"_Hmm, I wonder who will win."_

_I looked over to the corner of my eye and spotted Balmung leaning against the stage's wall prop. "Balmung!"_

_"Hello Kite," he greeted coolly. "Have you read the e-mail I sent you?" _

_"Yes, I have," I frowned. "What's your reason for me being involve with this?" I demandingly asked._

_"You're the hot topic and most searched player in The World my friend," he showed me a paper with the number of clicks in The World's search engine. '50 million searches?!' "Pretty big numbers. Almost neck-in-neck with my record," he motioned his hand to the players. "So, I gave the people who they wanted. A date with you," he pointed at me._

_"But," I respond. "I was suppose to be with BlackRose today."_

_"Oh? She's online?" he vaguely looked astonished. "Perhaps she'll be your 'Orihime'," he smirked teasingly. _

_"W-wha?" I blushed. "I'll be rooting for her though," I gulped. _

_"She sure looks upset," he pointed to a pink-haired player who was scooting pass the crowd._

_"BlackRo--" I tried to call her name but an unexpected rumble occurred._

"_We shall now set the area of the event!" the NPC beside me yelled._

"_Whoa!"_ _I held unto a pole, keeping my balance. At the same time, I watched the stage move away from the building and it turned into an isolate island. _

_The NPC made a brief summary of the Tanabata Festival's origin. "Now! We'll see who can cross this vast river for a date with Kite of the Azure Flames!" Party streamers popped out. "Everyone ready?!" he asked._

_I watched the players move closer to the shore. I saw BlackRose in front of the row of people. 'BlackRose!' Right beside her were two of my other friends. 'Terajima? Natsume? They're competing too?'_

"_Ready?!" the broadcaster held a spark gun and triggered it. "Begin!"_

_Online gamers shouted excitedly while they crossed the river. Everything seem to go well when I watched my friends swim the river when all of a sudden a huge shark came out of nowhere. 'A monster?!' I took out my twin blades and tried to jump off the stage but someone grabbed my yukata._

_"Hold it right there, Mr. Hikoboshi," Balmung stopped me. "Your role is to stay here," he compellingly made me sit down._

_"But! They're in trouble! Aren't you going to do anything?" _

_"I didn't say that the event was going to be a piece of cake. Did I?" he gazed at me confidently. "This is a game. Of course there will be monsters. Besides I've already given them a warning in the Board," he smirked._

_The NPC reminded the rest of the gamers about monsters prowling about in the river. Shouts of panic and terror came from them. Each one vanishing from the dreaded defeat. I was tempted to help everyone in trouble however Balmung held me back. _

_I sighed hopelessly and continued watching the event._ _I kept my eye out for my friends and so far BlackRose hasn't encountered any monsters. Along with Sanjuro, Natsume fought the two sharks without a problem, then until golden rings surrounded Sanjuro, logging him off. _

_'Oh no! Natsume!' I thought in a panic. She was all alone with a circle of sharks._

_The monster was unpredictably knocked off and BlackRose appeared by Natsume, aiding her. I smiled with relieve. The two girls stood strong for awhile, helping each other out but they struggled. Instead of two sharks, another one showed up and wounded BlackRose. They were in danger. In a blink of an eye, Sanjuro appeared, attacking the creatures and pitched a couple of health drinks to the girls. BlackRose left and continued swimming her way here, while Natsume and Sanjuro were finishing their battle. Minutes later, they were able to beat the sharks and continue there way._

_I intently watched BlackRose coming to the finish line. 'Almost there! Come on Akira!' I went closer on the edge of the stage, waiting for her. I smiled. BlackRose grinned but halt to a stop. 'Hn?' She spun around, running to the source of a shrieking cry. I looked over to the direction she swam to. It was Terajima. _

_My partner jumped in just on time, swiftly moving the angel-winged player. I could hear BlackRose's loud lecturing to Terajima which caused a mild bickering in the battlefield. I sweat dropped and lightly chuckled at the silly argument they were having. But the scene soon stopped when BlackRose took over and fought by herself. Terajima carefully swam while she avoided the other combat battles occurring around the river._

_"BlackRose!" I shouted but I failed to reach her. I nearly leaped out of the stage but an arm blocked my way._

_"Hold it!" Balmung stood beside me and pointed . "Look…"_

_A loud thunderclap roared. Mistral showed up, casting thunder spells at the monster. She healed BlackRose and both of my companions managed to put some damage on it._

_"I wonder," Balmung muttered. "If they can defeat a MVP…" he said without taking his eyes off them. _

_I swallowed. 'They can do this! I believe in them!' I recommenced watching the battling duo. After a couple of blows, BlackRose finally pierced the crab's armor and it crumbled. The crab was now vulnerable. Mistral threw some more spells and BlackRose made the finishing blow. 'Yes!' _

_"This year's winner is Terajima Ryoko!" the announcement startled me. _

_Terajima climbed up the stairs, panting tiredly. I walked over and I patted her back, giving her a thumbs up._

_"Good job," Balmung congratulated, shaking her hand. _

_"Here's your prize," the NPC gave Terajima a bouquet of flowers and pushed me close to her._ "_And there we have it folks! This year's Tanabata Event is over! Thank you for playing! Good Night!" _

_"Akira…" I watched BlackRose walk away. My face beamed with a crook frown of disappointment. She puts her friends first before herself. And she demonstrated that sincere action by helping Natsume and Terajima._

_"Too bad," Balmung smirked sympathetically. "BlackRose would have won. Am I right?"_

_I didn't answer. I just watched my partner walk away. 'She must be mad at me. I caused her the trouble of logging on and we didn't even spend time adventuring.' I noticed Terajima staring at me so I shook my head from my thoughts. "That's it?" I turned to ask Balmung._

_"What is?" he raised an eyebrow._

_A sweat drop fell on my head. "No offense but this event was lame," I chuckled._

_"I agree," Terajima supported._

_"Lame?! Explain yourselves!" he was taken aback._

_"You could have at least given everyone a consolation prize for coming," I grinned._

_Terajima giggled, nodding. "Oh! I must go. Father is going to be upset if I stay up too late," she bowed. "Good night Kite! Sweet Dreams!" she logged off._

_I waved back and saw the winged-warrior sulk down next to me. I sweat dropped and left the stage, deciding to search for BlackRose._

_End of Flashback_

I checked my menu screen on the party list but BlackRose wasn't online. "She already logged off…" I dejectedly sighed. From a distance, I glanced behind the bamboos with the papers dangling sweetly. I smiled and warped out.

**--**

**I wish that I'll have the courage to express my feelings to him…**

**-BlackRose**

**--**

**--**

**I wish that Akira can fulfill her wish.**

**-Kite**

**-- **

* * *

**A/N: Heylo! (waves) Finally! An update! Happy? Right? Right?! Whooo! Cause I am! Supah-dupah star! Yeah! (kinda drunk) Today is my 18th birthday. (throws confetti) Party at my house! Holla! Ahaha! Anyways! This chapter is a little filler. Kinda long though... Tell me how it was. I haven't heard from you guys for a long time and I want to hear some talk-the-talk from everyone! I miss my readers! Love you guys! **


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